Tracheotomy
/ˌtreɪ.kiˈɒt.ə.mi/noun
A surgical incision into the trachea to open an airway.
Did you know?Its first element comes from Greek trakhys, meaning “rough,” the same ancient root behind words like trachea and trachyte, while the second comes from tome, “a cutting,” a root that also survives in anatomy and surgery.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
trakhys
“rough, harsh”
Ancient Greek
Greek
tracheia arteria
“the rough artery, a term for the windpipe”
Ancient Greek
Greek
tomē
“a cutting, incision”
Modern Scientific Latin
Latin
tracheotomia
“incision into the trachea”
17th-18th Century
English
tracheotomy
“surgical opening into the windpipe”