Etymograph

English

splenium

Splenium comes from Latin splēnium ‘plaster, patch’, from Ancient Greek σπληνῐ́ον ‘pad or compress of linen’, and ultimately from σπλήν ‘spleen’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπλήν1‘spleen’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπληνῐ́ον2splēnĭ́on‘pad or compress of linen’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsplēnium2‘plaster, patch’
  4. Englishtodaysplenium2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σπληνίον
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English splenium

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπλήνWiktionary, Ancient Greek σπληνίον‘spleen’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπληνῐ́ονWiktionary, English spleniumsplēnĭ́on‘pad or compress of linen’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsplēniumWiktionary, English splenium‘plaster, patch’
  4. EnglishtodayspleniumWiktionary, English splenium

Linked words

through Ancient Greek σπλήν ‘spleen’

spleen, 9 more

Today it means

noun The thick posterior part of the corpus callosum of the brain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “splenium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek σπληνίον. 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 σπλήν / splenium

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