Tumor
/ˈtjuːmər/noun
An abnormal growth of tissue in the body.
Did you know?In classical Latin, *tumor* meant a swelling or puffing-up, and the same root also gave English words tied to “rising” and “heaping,” making it a word of physical expansion long before medicine claimed it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*teu-
“to swell, be strong”
Latin
Latin
tumere
“to swell”
Classical Latin
Latin
tumor
“a swelling, puffiness”
Late Latin / Old French
Latin / Old French
tumor
“a swelling; later a pathological swelling”
14th Century
English
tumour
“a swelling or lump in the body”
Modern English
English
tumor
“an abnormal growth of tissue in the body”