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Where does the word "cancer" come from? It comes from Greek karkinos, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).
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Where does the word "cancer" come from? It comes from Greek karkinos, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).
Cancer’s story begins in Greek: karkinos meant “crab.” Greek; Hippocrates compared tumours' swollen veins to a crab's legs. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as cancer. Latin for crab; also the zodiac sign. It reached English by 1600s as cancer. The older English form was 'canker'. Today, cancer means a disease of abnormal cell growth.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient karkinos "crab", Greek; Hippocrates compared tumours' swollen veins to a crab's legs.
- Stage 2 · Latin · ancient cancer "crab; tumour", Latin for crab; also the zodiac sign.
- Stage 3 · English · 1600s cancer "tumour", the older English form was 'canker'.