Etymograph

English

ileus

Ileus comes from Latin īleus ‘ileus, intestinal obstruction’, from Ancient Greek εἴλω ‘to shut in’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-1‘to turn, wind’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἴλω1eílō‘to shut in’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰλεός2eileós‘intestinal obstruction’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīleus2‘ileus, intestinal obstruction’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1849ileus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἰλεός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English ileus
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, Hippocrates: “When ileus comes on in a case of strangury,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἰλεός‘to turn, wind’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἴλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἰλεόςeílō‘to shut in’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰλεόςWiktionary, English ileuseileós‘intestinal obstruction’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīleusWiktionary, English ileus‘ileus, intestinal obstruction’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1849ileusWiktionary, English ileus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, Hippocrates: “When ileus comes on in a case of strangury,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind’

well, walk, wall, volume, revolution, evolution, involve, valve, vault, evolve, revolt, vulgar, waltz, helix, convoluted, divulge, vagrant, vulva, voluminous, gauche, convolution, vulgate, wale, involution, valvular, valise, voluble, 74 more

through Ancient Greek εἰλεός ‘intestinal obstruction’

iliac, ilium

Today it means

noun Disruption of the normal propulsive ability of the gastrointestinal tract, due to failure of peristalsis.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ileus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek εἰλεός. 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 *welH- / ileus

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