Lupus
/ˈluː.pəs/noun
A disease marked by immune system attack on the body's own tissues, especially systemic lupus erythematosus.
Did you know?The name was popularized in medieval Latin medicine because some skin lesions were imagined to gnaw at the flesh like a wolf, giving the illness a predatory, almost cursed identity.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wĺ̥kʷos
“wolf”
Proto-Italic
PI
*lukos
“wolf”
Latin
Latin
lupus
“wolf”
Medieval Latin
Latin
lupus
“wolf; a destructive skin disease likened to a wolf”
Modern English
English
lupus
“an autoimmune disease named from the Latin word for wolf”