Etymograph

English

prion

From (a reordering of) the initial letters of proteinaceous infectious particle.

The story

Coined by American neurologist and biochemist Stanley B.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Another origin of prion

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-‘to pass, go forth’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pér-ye-tiuncertainye-present of *per-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*péryōuncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπείρωpeírō‘to pierce’uncertain
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίωpríō‘to saw, to cut’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίωνpríōn‘saw’
  7. Englishtodayprion

Today it means

noun A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prion”. 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 / prion

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