English
sepsis
Sepsis comes from Ancient Greek σῆψις ‘putrefaction’, from σήπω ‘to make rotten’, and ultimately from σήψ ‘a kind of lizard’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσήψsḗps‘a kind of lizard’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσήπωsḗpō‘to make rotten’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσῆψιςsêpsis‘putrefaction’
- Englishearliest quotation 1994sepsis
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσήψsḗps‘a kind of lizard’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσήπωsḗpō‘to make rotten’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσῆψιςsêpsis‘putrefaction’
- Englishearliest quotation 1994sepsis
Earliest quotation: 1994, Martin Amis, New Yorker: “Imagine the sepsis of helpless loathing [Jimmy Connors] must…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek σήπω ‘to make rotten’
Today it means
noun A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek σήψ / sepsis