Lymphoma
/lɪmˈfoʊ.mə/noun
A cancer of the lymphatic system, especially one arising from lymphocytes.
Did you know?The first element comes from Latin *lympha* (“clear water, spring-water”), a word that later fed into the name of the lymphatic fluid, while the tumor suffix *-oma* is from Greek and simply means “mass” or “swelling.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Latin
Latin
lympha
“clear water; spring-water, later linked in learned usage to the lymphatic fluid”
Ancient Greek
Greek
nýmphē
“a young bride; a nymph, a nature spirit”
19th Century
Medical Latin
lymphoma
“a tumor or swelling involving lymphatic tissue”
Modern English
English
lymphoma
“a cancer of the lymphatic system”
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