doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.04.010. eCollection 2021.
The ancient Greek roots of the termToxic
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- PMID:34026561
- PMCID: PMC8122150
- DOI: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.04.010
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The ancient Greek roots of the termToxic
Konstantinos Laios et al. Toxicol Rep..
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Abstract
In ancient Greek literature the adjective toxic (Greek:τoξικόν) derives from the nounτόξo, that is the arc. This noun according to theLiddell - Scott - Jones lexicon had several meanings. Apart from the meaning that someone is able to use a bow or the military department of the archers, the medical context of the term is that a substance has the characteristic of a poison. This concept of the term survived until today with little differentiation.
Keywords: Ancient Greek medicine; Arc; Byzantine medicine; Poison; Toxic.
© 2021 The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors report no declarations of interest.
Figures
Odysseus slays the suitors of his wife Penelope (around 440 BC). Attic red figure skyphos from Tarquinia (Italy), Altes Museum Berlin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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