Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Pharynx
/ˈfærɪŋks/noun
The cavity behind the nose and mouth that leads down to the oesophagus and larynx.
The Greek roots
φάρυγξ
phárynx
throat, gullet
Literally: “the throat”
Follow a root:φάρυγξ2 words
The story of the word
Greek φάρυγξ and λάρυγξ were used loosely and sometimes swapped for each other; anatomy assigned each a fixed structure only later, the pharynx as the shared passage above and the larynx as the voice box below. The stem is φαρυγγ-, which is where pharyngitis gets its double g. The word is probably related to φάραγξ, a ravine or chasm, the throat seen as a gorge.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Modern Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
pharyngitispharyngealnasopharynx
In a sentence
The swab has to reach the back of the pharynx to be any use.
Swallowing moves the food through the pharynx in under a second.