Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Hormesis
/hɔːrˈmiːsɪs/noun
A helpful response produced by a small dose of something that does damage at a large one.
The Greek roots
ὅρμησις
hórmēsis
setting in motion, impulse
Literally: “a setting in motion”
Follow a root:ὅρμησις1 word
The story of the word
Toxicology took the word in 1943, when Chester Southam and John Ehrlich found that red cedar extract killed fungi at strong concentrations and made them grow faster at weak ones. In Greek the noun was unremarkable: hórmēsis is the impulse that starts a movement, and the Stoics used hormḗ for the drive behind any action. Exercise physiology now borrows it to explain why a hard training week leaves you stronger.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 1943
Same family
hormonehormonal
In a sentence
Fasting is often defended on hormesis grounds, as a mild stress the body overcompensates for.