Necrosis
/nɛˈkroʊsɪs/noun
The death of cells or tissues in living organisms.
Did you know?Necrosis comes from Greek medical language, where -osis marked a condition or process, so the word literally names the process of death inside the body.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
nekrosis
“a putting to death; mortification, especially of bodily tissue”
Late Greek
Greek
nekroōsis
“the process of making dead; gangrene or tissue death”
Late Latin
Latin
necrosis
“a medical term for mortification or death of tissue”
16th-17th Century
English
necrosis
“a term used in medicine for the death of bodily tissue”
Modern English
English
necrosis
“death of cells or tissues in a living body”
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