Sport & ContestGreek → English
Ergogenic
/ˌɜːrɡoʊˈdʒɛnɪk/adjective
Improving physical performance or the capacity to do work.
The Greek roots
ἔργον
érgon
work, deed
-γενής
-genḗs
producing, giving rise to
Literally: “work producing”
The story of the word
Two ordinary Greek pieces, ἔργον and -γενής, assembled by twentieth-century physiologists for anything that raises the ceiling on effort. The label covers caffeine, altitude tents, carbohydrate loading and things that will get an athlete banned, since it describes an effect and not a rulebook. Doping literature therefore has to pile extra adjectives on top of it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 20th century
Same family
energyergonomicssynergyerg
In a sentence
Beetroot juice turned out to have a small but real ergogenic effect on endurance.