Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Scoliosis
/ˌskoʊliˈoʊsɪs/noun
A sideways curvature of the spine.
The Greek roots
σκολίωσις
skolíōsis
a bending, crookedness
Literally: “a crookedness”
Follow a root:σκολίωσις1 word
The story of the word
Galen used skoliosis for the lateral curve and set it alongside kyphosis and lordosis; all three names survive unchanged in orthopaedic notes. The adjective skolios also worked morally, for crooked dealing and twisted speech, the opposite of straight. Most adolescent cases have no identifiable cause, which is why the standard diagnosis carries the word idiopathic in front of it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 18th century
In a sentence
The school screening picked up her scoliosis early enough for a brace to do the work.