English
stomach
Stomach comes from Middle English stomak, from Old French estomac, from Latin stomachus, from Ancient Greek στόμαχος, from στόμα ‘mouth’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαstóma‘mouth’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEστόμαχοςstómakhos‘throat; stomach’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstomachus‘gullet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estomac
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomak‘stomach’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590stomach
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαstóma‘mouth’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEστόμαχοςstómakhos‘throat; stomach’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstomachus‘gullet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estomac
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stomak‘stomach’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590stomach
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto VII: “Sterne was his looke, and full of stomacke vaine,…”
The story
Partially displaced native Old English maga, whence Modern English maw.
Every English word from Ancient Greek στόμα
Today it means
noun An organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek στόμα / stomach