Etymograph

English

dysentery

Dysentery comes from Ancient Greek ἔντερον ‘bowels’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros ‘inside, within’, and ultimately from *h₁én ‘in’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én1‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énteros1‘inside, within’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔντερον2énteraas ἔντερα‘bowels’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδυσεντερία2dusentería
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdysenteria2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dissenterie2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissenterie2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1959dysentery2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔντερον
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dysentery
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1959, In Old Mexico: “We ate, we drank, and we were merry /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔντερον‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énterosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔντερον‘inside, within’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔντερονWiktionary, English dysenteryénteraas ἔντερα‘bowels’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδυσεντερίαWiktionary, English dysenterydusentería
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdysenteriaWiktionary, English dysentery
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dissenterieWiktionary, English dysentery
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissenterieWiktionary, English dysentery
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1959dysenteryWiktionary, English dysentery. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1959, In Old Mexico: “We ate, we drank, and we were merry /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, internal, indigenous, intimate, encounter, impulse, ensemble, incubation, intern, incense, intestine, endo, incubus, impel, incubate, agog, intimation, interregnum, censer, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros ‘inside, within’

introduce, entrance, interior, enter, intro, 13 more

through Ancient Greek ἔντερον ‘bowels’

enteral, 6 more

Today it means

noun A disease characterised by inflammation of the intestines, especially the colon (large intestine), accompanied by pus (white blood cells) in the feces, fever, pain in the abdomen, high-volume diarrhea, and possible blood in the feces.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dysentery”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἔντερον. 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 *h₁én / dysentery

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