Argyria
/ɑːrˈdʒɪəriə/noun
A condition in which silver accumulates in the body, causing permanent blue-gray discoloration of the skin and sometimes other tissues.
Did you know?Excessive exposure to silver compounds, including some colloidal-silver products, can produce argyria because deposited silver compounds darken when exposed to light.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂erǵ-
“Bright, shining, or white; the reconstructed root associated with silver and brightness.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἄργυρος (árgyros)
“Silver; the bright, shining metal.”
Classical Latin
Latin
argentum
“Silver; the source of later words such as argent.”
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
argyria
“A condition or discoloration associated with silver; formed from Greek áργyros with the medical suffix -ia.”
19th Century
Medical English
argyria
“A pathological accumulation of silver producing blue-gray skin discoloration.”
Modern English
English
argyria
“Silver-induced blue-gray pigmentation of the skin or other tissues.”