English
pancreas
Pancreas comes from Ancient Greek πάγκρεας, from πᾶς ‘all’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- ‘bloody or raw flesh, raw meat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krewh₂-1‘bloody or raw flesh, raw meat’root named by Wiktionary
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπᾶς1pânas πᾶν‘all’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάγκρεας1pánkreas
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpancreas1
- Englishearliest quotation 2024pancreas1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English pancreas
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Maxine Lipner, What Does It Mean When Your Poop Floats?: “Chronic pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krewh₂-Wiktionary, English pancreas‘bloody or raw flesh, raw meat’root named by Wiktionary
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπᾶςWiktionary, English pancreaspânas πᾶν‘all’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάγκρεαςWiktionary, English pancreaspánkreas
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpancreasWiktionary, English pancreas
- Englishearliest quotation 2024pancreasWiktionary, English pancreas. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Maxine Lipner, What Does It Mean When Your Poop Floats?: “Chronic pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- ‘bloody or raw flesh, raw meat’
raw, cruel, crude, ree, 7 more
through Ancient Greek πᾶς ‘all’
Today it means
noun A gland near the stomach which secretes a fluid into the duodenum to assist with food digestion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “pancreas”. 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 *krewh₂- / pancreas