Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Gynecology
/ˌɡaɪnɪˈkɒlədʒi/noun
The branch of medicine dealing with the female reproductive system.
The Greek roots
γυνή, γυναικός
gynḗ, gynaikós
woman
-λογία
-logía
study of
Literally: “study of women”
The story of the word
The stem is the genitive γυναικός, which is why the English spelling has that awkward gynaeco- rather than gyno-. The word appears in English medicine in the 1840s, when the specialty separated from general surgery. In a Greek house the γυναικωνῖτις was the women's quarters, and a misogynist is literally a woman-hater built on the same noun.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 1840s
Same family
misogynygynecologistandrogynous
In a sentence
The clinic runs gynecology on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.