Etymograph

English

gastritis

Gastritis comes from Ancient Greek γαστήρ ‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’, and perhaps goes back to γρᾰ́ω ‘to gnaw, eat’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́ω1‘to gnaw, eat’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαστήρ2gastḗr‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’
  3. Englishtodaygastritis2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γαστήρ, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English gastritis

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́ωWiktionary, Ancient Greek γαστήρ, which cites Beekes‘to gnaw, eat’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαστήρWiktionary, English gastritisgastḗr‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’
  3. EnglishtodaygastritisWiktionary, English gastritis

Linked words

through Ancient Greek γρᾰ́ω ‘to gnaw, eat’

gaster, 6 more

through Ancient Greek γαστήρ ‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’

gastrectomy, gastropod, 5 more

Today it means

noun Inflammation of the lining of the stomach, characterised by nausea, loss of appetite, and upper abdominal discomfort or pain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “gastritis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek γαστήρ. 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 / Ancient Greek γρᾰ́ω / gastritis

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