Etymograph

English

epicrisis

Epicrisis comes from Ancient Greek ἐπίκρισις ‘determination, decision’, from κρῑ́νω ‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kri-n-yé-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kríňňō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῑ́νω2‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between two things or people or among a group of…’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπίκρισις3epíkrisis‘determination, decision’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1916epicrisis3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρίνω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐπίκρισις
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English epicrisis
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1916, Albion Walter Hewlett: “It would be well if every practitioner would go…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρίνω‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kri-n-yé-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek κρίνωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kríňňōWiktionary, Ancient Greek κρίνωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῑ́νωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐπίκρισις‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between two things or people or among a group of…’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπίκρισιςWiktionary, English epicrisisepíkrisis‘determination, decision’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1916epicrisisWiktionary, English epicrisis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1916, Albion Walter Hewlett: “It would be well if every practitioner would go…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate’

certain, secretary, secret, crime, criminal, discrimination, discretion, critic, riddle, discrete, criterion, discriminate, discreet, discern, endocrine, excrement, excretion, incriminate, rime, incrimination, excrete, certitude, ridder, recrimination, 44 more

through Ancient Greek κρῑ́νω ‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between…’

critique, criticize, hypocrite, criterium, 5 more

Today it means

noun A critical or analytical study, evaluation, or summing up, especially of a medical case history.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “epicrisis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κρίνω, Ancient Greek ἐπίκρισις. 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 *krey- / epicrisis

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