English
thyroid
Thyroid comes from New Latin thyreoīdēs ‘Shaped like a shield’, from Ancient Greek θῠ́ρᾱ ‘door’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰwer-1‘door’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰurā1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠ́ρᾱ1thŭ́rā‘door’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεός1‘an oblong shield’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεοειδής1thŭreoeidḗs‘shield-shaped’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900thyreoīdēs1‘Shaped like a shield’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013thyroid1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English thyroid
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Douglas Main, Israel Outlaws Water Fluoridation: “Israel is one of the few countries that widely…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰwer-Wiktionary, English thyroid‘door’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰurāWiktionary, English thyroidreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠ́ρᾱWiktionary, English thyroidthŭ́rā‘door’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεόςWiktionary, English thyroid‘an oblong shield’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεοειδήςWiktionary, English thyroidthŭreoeidḗs‘shield-shaped’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900thyreoīdēsWiktionary, English thyroid‘Shaped like a shield’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013thyroidWiktionary, English thyroid. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Douglas Main, Israel Outlaws Water Fluoridation: “Israel is one of the few countries that widely…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- ‘door’
through Ancient Greek θῠρεοειδής ‘shield-shaped’
Today it means
adj Of, relating to, or being the thyroid cartilage.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “thyroid”. 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 *dʰwer- / thyroid