Ectomy
/ˈɛk.tə.mi/noun
Surgical removal of a body part or tissue.
Did you know?“Ectomy” comes from Ancient Greek ektemnein, “to cut out,” built from ek, “out,” and temnein, “to cut.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*temh-
“To cut”
Ancient Greek
Greek
temnō (τέμνω)
“I cut”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ektemnein (ἐκτέμνειν)
“To cut out or excise”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ektomē (ἐκτομή)
“A cutting out; excision”
19th Century
New Latin
-ectomia
“A surgical suffix meaning removal by cutting”
Modern English
English
-ectomy / ectomy
“Surgical removal of a body part or tissue”