Hepatic

The story of the word

The stem shows up in the genitive, hēpatos, which is why every English derivative has a t in it. Greek diviners read the liver of a sacrificed animal for omens, a practice they shared with the Etruscans, so hēpar was a word priests used as often as doctors. Hepatica, the woodland flower, was named for a leaf shaped like the organ and dosed for liver complaints on that reasoning alone.

How it travelled

Ancient Greek → Latin → English

First recorded

14th century