Etymograph

English

thyroxine

Thyroxine comes from New Latin thyreoīdēs, from Ancient Greek θῠρεοειδής ‘Shield-shaped’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéydos1‘seeing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wéidos1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶδος1eîdos
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεοειδής1thŭreoeidḗs‘Shield-shaped’
  6. New Latinmodernthyreoīdēs1
  7. English1500–presentthyroid1
  8. Englishtodaythyroxine1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thyroxine

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, English thyroxine‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéydosWiktionary, English thyroxine‘seeing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wéidosWiktionary, English thyroxinereconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶδοςWiktionary, English thyroxineeîdos
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῠρεοειδήςWiktionary, English thyroxinethŭreoeidḗs‘Shield-shaped’
  6. New LatinmodernthyreoīdēsWiktionary, English thyroxine
  7. English1500–presentthyroidWiktionary, English thyroxine
  8. EnglishtodaythyroxineWiktionary, English thyroxine

A compound of thyr- ‘thyroid’ + ox- ‘oxygen’ + -ine

Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

…

Ancient Greek εἶδος

Ancient Greek θῠρεοειδής ‘Shield-shaped’

New Latin thyreoīdēs

English thyroid

English thyr-

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

story, video, guy, idea, evidence, review, visit, provide, advice, guide, interview, vision, historic, witness, wisdom, visa, advise, evident, wit, invisible, wizard, historian, visibility, vista, wisely, witty, revise, guise, prudent, envious, jurisprudence, unwise, prudence, revue, druid, vide, avis, improvise, purview, twit, 104 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wéydos ‘seeing’

wise, 48 more

through Proto-Hellenic *wéidos

eidolon, steroidal, 48 more

through Ancient Greek εἶδος

idol, tabloid, steroid, idyll, trapezoid, colloid, hyoid, sigmoid, 50 more

through English thyroid

hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, parathyroid, thyroiditis, 14 more

Today it means

noun A thyroid hormone, with the chemical formula C₁₅H₁₁I₄NO₄, that regulates cell metabolism and growth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thyroxine”. 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 *weyd- / thyroxine

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