Placenta
/pləˈsɛn.tə/noun
The temporary organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy and transfers oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.
Did you know?Ancient Greek and Roman anatomists named the placenta for its cake-like, flattened appearance, not for any mystical association with birth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plak-
“Flat or spread out; the reconstructed root behind the later cake and anatomical terms.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
plakous (πλακοῦς)
“A flat cake or round, flattened loaf.”
Classical Latin
Latin
placenta
“A flat cake; Latin adopted the Greek culinary term.”
16th Century
Latin
placenta
“An anatomical term for the organ attached to the uterine wall, used in Renaissance anatomical writing.”
17th Century
English
placenta
“The organ that nourishes and connects the developing fetus to the mother.”
Modern English
English
placenta
“The pregnancy organ that enables exchange of oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste between mother and fetus.”