Enteritis
/ˌɛn.təˈraɪ.tɪs/noun
Inflammation of the small intestine.
Did you know?Enteritis comes from Greek medical vocabulary, where *enteron* meant the intestines; the same root also gave us the scientific term *entero-* used in words like *enteric* and *enteropathy*.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
énteron (ἔντερον)
“intestine; gut”
Ancient Greek
Greek
enterîtis (ἐντερίτις)
“inflammation of the intestines”
Late Latin
Latin
enteritis
“medical term for intestinal inflammation”
18th–19th Century
English
enteritis
“adopted as a clinical term in medicine”
Modern English
English
enteritis
“inflammation of the small intestine”