Spondylosis
/ˌspɒn.dɪˈləʊ.sɪs/noun
A degenerative condition of the spine, especially involving the vertebrae and discs.
Did you know?Spondylosis is built from Greek spondylos, meaning a vertebra, plus -osis, a medical suffix for a condition or process, showing how modern medicine still speaks in ancient Greek code.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
GRK
σπόνδυλος (spondylos)
“a vertebra; also a joint or knuckle-like segment”
Late Greek
GRK
σπονδύλωσις (spondylōsis)
“a condition affecting the vertebrae; a spinal disorder”
Modern Medical Latin
Latin
spondylosis
“a medical term for degenerative changes in the spine”
19th Century
English
spondylosis
“adopted into medical English as a technical term for spinal degeneration”
Modern English
English
spondylosis
“degenerative disease of the spine”