Hematocrit
/ˈhiː.mə.tə.krɪt/noun
A lab measurement of the proportion of blood volume made up by red blood cells.
Did you know?Hematocrit was coined in modern medical Greek from roots meaning “blood” and “to separate,” turning a clinical test into a word built from the language of division itself.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
haîma
“blood”
Ancient Greek
Greek
krínein
“to separate, decide, judge”
19th Century
English
hematocrit
“a device or process for separating blood cells from plasma”
Modern English
English
hematocrit
“the percentage of red blood cells in a blood sample”