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Merkulova I.Yu. [Peculiarities of the creation of English-language medical terms using international word-formation elements of Greek-Latin origin in the formation of medical terminology] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 1. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/30FLSK125.pdf (in Russian).

Peculiarities of the creation of English-language medical terms using international word-formation elements of Greek-Latin origin in the formation of medical terminology

Merkulova Irina Yuryevna
«Samara State Medical University» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Samara, Russia
E-mail: i.yu.merkulova@samsmu.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1996-7644

Abstract. Modern medical terminology in English is the result of the centuries-old development of medical science, which has its roots in the Greek-Latin lexical and word-formation foundation. The anatomical and clinical vocabulary of the Greek language was presented in the works of Hippocrates and Aristotle. After the conquest of Greece by Rome, medicine continued to be a Greek profession, and, as a rule, the doctors in Rome were Greeks. During the formation of medical terminology, Latin and Latinized Greek terms interact with the English language, undergoing changes. Studying anatomical terminology in English, one can observe the influence of Latin. For example: alimentary — alimentarius. The clinical and pharmaceutical subsystems rely primarily on terminological elements borrowed from Latin. This study suggests a new approach to the analysis of Latin borrowings in English, taking into account the levels of the linguistic hierarchy. The results of the study have not only theoretical, but also practical significance and may be useful to those who study English in the field of medical communication, which is impossible to master without basic knowledge of Latin. The profound influence of Latin on the formation and development of English-language medical terminology is indisputable and well-founded. Approximately 95 % of English medical terms are borrowed or created on the basis of Latin and Latinized Greek.

Keywords: assimilation; terminological system; affixation; linguistic hierarchy; prefix; suffixation; etymology

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