Ulcus
/ˈʌl.kəs/noun
A medical term for an ulcer or open sore.
Did you know?Ulcus is Latin medical terminology preserved almost unchanged in English, and its ancient Greek relative helkos was used for ulcerative wounds.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁elkos
“Reconstructed term for a wound or ulcer”
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic
*ulkos
“A wound or ulcer”
Classical Latin
Latin
ulcus
“An ulcer, sore, or festering wound”
Late Latin
Latin
ulcus
“An ulcer; a standard medical term”
17th Century
English
ulcus
“A learned medical borrowing meaning ulcer”
Modern English
English
ulcus
“A specialized term for an ulcer or open sore”