English
cryopreservation
Cryopreservation comes from Ancient Greek κρύος ‘icy cold, chill, frost’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *krews- ‘to freeze, harden’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-1‘to freeze, harden’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρύος2krúos‘icy cold, chill, frost’
- Englishtodaycryopreservation2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρύος, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, English cryopreservation
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρύος, which cites Beekes‘to freeze, harden’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρύοςWiktionary, English cryopreservationkrúos‘icy cold, chill, frost’
- EnglishtodaycryopreservationWiktionary, English cryopreservation
Formed from cryo- + preservation
Ancient Greek κρῠ́ος ‘ice, icy cold, chill, frost’
English cryo-
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krews- ‘to freeze, harden’
through Ancient Greek κρύος ‘icy cold, chill, frost’
Today it means
noun the preservation of biological tissue at cryogenic temperatures, typically at -80°C (dry ice temperature) or -196°C (the boiling point of liquid nitrogen).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cryopreservation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κρύος. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krews- / cryopreservation