Meniscus
/məˈnɪs.kəs/noun
A crescent-shaped structure or curved surface, especially the cartilage in the knee or the curved surface of a liquid in a container.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek diminutive imagery for the moon’s crescent, and ancient writers used it for curved shapes long before modern anatomy claimed it.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
GRK
μηνίσκος (mēnískos)
“a little moon; a crescent moon or crescent-shaped object”
Classical Latin
LAT
meniscus
“a crescent or crescent-shaped object”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
LAT
meniscus
“a curved lens or curved surface”
17th–18th Century
EN
meniscus
“a crescent-shaped lens element or curved liquid surface”
Modern English
EN
meniscus
“the curved upper surface of a liquid or the crescent-shaped cartilage in the knee”