Botulinum
/ˌbɒtʃʊˈlaɪnəm/noun
A substance or adjective relating to the neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Did you know?The name comes from Latin botulus, meaning “sausage,” after a 19th-century outbreak of paralysis was traced to contaminated blood sausage.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
botulus
“Sausage, especially a blood sausage”
19th Century
German
Botulismus
“Food poisoning associated with sausage; the term was coined after outbreaks of paralysis”
1820
German
Botulismus
“Justin Kerner used the term for the paralytic illness caused by sausage poisoning”
Late 19th Century
New Latin
botulinum
“A neuter form derived from botulus, meaning “related to sausage” or “sausage toxin””
20th Century
Scientific English
botulinum
“Relating to the toxin-producing bacterium Clostridium botulinum”
Modern English
English
botulinum
“The neurotoxin or the bacterium and substances associated with it, as in botulinum toxin”
Explore more surprising origins