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Origin and history of thyroid

thyroid(adj.)

1690s, in anatomy, in reference to both the cartilage and the gland, from Latinized form of Greek thyreoeidēs, literally "shield-shaped" (in khondros thyreoeides "shield-shaped cartilage," used by Galen to describe the "Adam's apple" in the throat), from thyreos "oblong, door-shaped shield" (from thyra "door," from PIE root *dhwer- "door, doorway") + -eides "form, shape" (see -oid). The noun, short for thyroid gland, is recorded from 1849. Combining form is thyro-.

also from 1690s

Entries linking to thyroid

hyperthyroidism(n.)

1895, from hyper- "over, exceedingly, to excess" + thyroid + -ism.

pylon(n.)

1823, "gateway to an Egyptian temple," from Greek pylon "gateway," from pylē "gate, wing of a pair of double gates; an entrance, entrance into a country; mountain pass; narrow strait of water," a word of unknown etymology, perhaps a foreign technical term. The usual word for "door" in PIE in Greek took the form thyra (see thyroid). Meaning "tower for guiding aviators" (1909) led to that of "steel tower for high-tension wires" (1923).

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epic
1580s, "pertaining to or constituting a lengthy heroic poem," via French épique or directly from Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos "a word; a tale, story; promise, prophecy, proverb; poetry in heroic verse" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). Extended sense of "grand, her
honky
also honkey, derogatory word for "white person," by 1967, African-American vernacular, of unknown origin, perhaps from late 19c. hunky "East-Central European immigrant," which probably is a colloquial shortening of Hungarian (compare hunk (n.2)). Honky in the sense of "factory ha
money
mid-13c., monie, "funds, means, anything convertible into money;" c. 1300, "coinage, coin, metal currency," from Old French monoie "money, coin, currency; change" (Modern French monnaie), from Latin moneta "place for coining money, mint; coined money, money, coinage," from Moneta
pretend
late 14c., pretenden, "to profess, put forward as a statement or assertion, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, spread before, put forward; put forward as an excuse, allege," f
dialogue
c. 1200, "literary work consisting of a conversation between two or more persons," from Old French dialoge and directly from Latin dialogus, from Greek dialogos "conversation, dialogue," related to dialogesthai "converse," from dia "across, between" (see dia-) + legein "to speak"
quixotic
of persons, "extravagantly chivalrous, absurdly romantic," abstractly, "striving for an unattainable or impractical ideal," 1791, from Don Quixote, the romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes' satirical novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" (1605; in English translation by 1620). Don
bender
late 15c., "instrument for bending," agent noun from bend (v.). Slang meaning "drinking bout" is American English, attested from 1846, perhaps from the Scottish sense of "a hard drinker" (1728). Perhaps from the verb in the figurative sense of "strain, brace, wind up." Other slan
adamant
late 14c., "hard, unbreakable," from adamant (n.). The figurative sense of "unshakeable" (in belief, etc.) is by 1670s. Related: Adamantly; adamance...."a very hard stone," mid-14c., adamant, adamaunt, from Old French adamant "diamond; magnet" or directly from Latin adamantem (no
shift
Middle English shiften, from Old English sciftan, scyftan "arrange, place, put in order" (a sense now obsolete), also "divide, separate, partition; distribute, allot, share" (now obsolete or provincial), from Proto-Germanic *skiftan (source also of Old Norse skipta "to divide, ch
rap
early 14c., rappe, "a quick, light blow; a resounding stroke," also "a fart" (late 15c.), native or borrowed from a Scandinavian source (compare Danish rap, Swedish rapp "light blow"); either way probably of imitative origin (compare slap, clap). Slang meaning "a rebuke, the blam

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