Asplenic
/eɪˈsplɛnɪk/noun
Having no spleen, whether by birth or after surgical removal.
Did you know?The word is built with the Greek privative prefix a- (“without”) plus splēn (“spleen”), the same ancient root behind medical words for spleen disorders and the old belief that the spleen governed melancholy.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
a- + splēn
““without” + “spleen””
Late Latin
Latin
asplēnicus
“pertaining to being without a spleen”
Medieval Latin
Latin
asplenicus
“used in medical writing for a person lacking a spleen”
19th Century
English
asplenic
“medical term for lacking a spleen”
Modern English
English
asplenic
“having no spleen”
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