English
pterocardiac
From ptero- + cardiac.
Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’
Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ‘feather’
Proto-Hellenic *pterón
Ancient Greek πτερόν ‘wing, feather’
English ptero-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- ‘heart’
…
Ancient Greek κᾰρδῐ́ᾱ ‘heart’
Ancient Greek κᾰρδῐᾰκός ‘concerning the heart’
Latin cardiacus ‘related to the heart or stomach’
Middle French cardiaque
English cardiac
Today it means
adj winglike and present in the cardiac stomach
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “pterocardiac”. 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 / pterocardiac