Where Does the Word Ectomy Come from?

word-forming element meaning "surgical removal," from Latinized form of Greek -ektomia "a cutting out of," from ektemnein "to cut out," from ek "out" (see ex-) + temnein "to cut" (from PIE root *tem- "to cut").

What is the root word of ectomy?

Most medical words are made up of a prefix followed by a root word. ... Appendectomy is formed by two words: appendec (Greek for appendix) and ectomy (Latin for removal of). Combining the two words together, appendectomy means to remove the appendix.

Is ectomy Latin or Greek?

The form -ectomy ultimately comes from the Greek ektomē, meaning “excision.” It is equivalent to the combination of ec- (from the Greek ek, “out”) and -tomy from the Greek tomḗ, “a cutting”. So, -ectomy has a literal sense of “a cutting out of”—that is, “an excision.”