Glossitis
/ˌɡlɑːˈsaɪ.tɪs/noun
Inflammation of the tongue.
Did you know?Glossitis comes from Greek *glōssa* (“tongue”), a root that also gave English **glossary**, because ancient word-lists were literally “tongue” lists for explaining foreign speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*\u0261\u02c8l\u014dws- / *\u0261\u02c8l\u014dus-
“Tongue, speech organ”
Ancient Greek
Greek
\u03b3\u03bb\u03ce\u03c3\u03c3\u03b1 (glōssa)
“Tongue; language; a foreign word”
Late Greek
Greek
-\u03af\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 (-itis)
“Inflammation, especially in medical terms”
Modern Scientific Latin
Latin
glossitis
“Inflammation of the tongue”
Modern English
English
glossitis
“Inflammation of the tongue”