Etymology Map
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Insulin

4 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a hormone that regulates blood sugar, used to treat diabetes

Where does the word "insulin" come from? It comes from Latin insula, passing through German and French before entering English (1920s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
insula
Latin · classical
"island"
'island'; also a Roman apartment block standing in its street grid like an island
2
Stage 2 of 4
Langerhans islets
German · 1869
"pancreatic islets"
the medical student Paul Langerhans described clusters of cells in the pancreas in his Berlin dissertation of 1869, later named 'islets' after him
3
Stage 3 of 4
insuline
French · 1909
"islet hormone"
the Belgian physiologist Jean de Meyer named the islets' supposed hormone in 1909, before anyone had isolated it
4
Stage 4 of 4
insulin
English · 1920s
"blood-sugar hormone"
Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated it in Toronto in 1921, and 14-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first person treated, in January 1922
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Read the full story

Insulin’s story begins in Latin: insula meant “island.” 'island'; also a Roman apartment block standing in its street grid like an island. By 1869, the word had taken hold in German as Langerhans islets. The medical student Paul Langerhans described clusters of cells in the pancreas in his Berlin dissertation of 1869, later named 'islets' after him. From there it passed into French as insuline by 1909. The Belgian physiologist Jean de Meyer named the islets' supposed hormone in 1909, before anyone had isolated it. It reached English by 1920s as insulin. Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated it in Toronto in 1921, and 14-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first person treated, in January 1922. Today, insulin means a hormone that regulates blood sugar, used to treat diabetes.