Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Prostate
/ˈprɒsteɪt/noun
A gland in men that sits below the bladder and contributes fluid to semen.
The Greek roots
πρό
pró
before, in front
ἵστημι
hístēmi
to stand, set
Literally: “one standing in front”
The story of the word
Herophilus of Chalcedon, dissecting in Alexandria around 300 BC, called it προστάτης because it stands in front of the bladder. In everyday Greek the same word meant a leader, a patron, the man who stands before others, which is why a Byzantine guild chief and an anatomical gland share a name. The persistent misspelling prostrate is unrelated Latin, meaning thrown down flat.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Medieval Latin → French → English
- First recorded
- 1640s
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
ecstasyapostasysystemstatic
In a sentence
His GP suggested a prostate check because of his age, not his symptoms.