Learn Greek › C1 › αρτηρία
αρτηρία
artery /ar.ti.ˈri.a/
nounC1#3069 most common
Also: main road/thoroughfare (figurative), (ancient) windpipe
Example sentences
Η αρτηρία μεταφέρει αίμα από την καρδιά.
The artery carries blood from the heart.
Ο γιατρός άκουσε τον παλμό στην αρτηρία του καρπού.
The doctor listened to the pulse in the wrist artery.
Αυτός ο δρόμος είναι η κύρια αρτηρία της πόλης.
This road is the main artery of the city.
Η στένωση της αρτηρίας μπορεί να προκαλέσει έμφραγμα.
Narrowing of the artery can cause a heart attack.
Οι αρτηρίες σκληραίνουν με την ηλικία λόγω εναπόθεσης λίπους.
Arteries harden with age due to fat deposits.
Η αθηροσκλήρωση των αρτηριών αποτελεί βασικό παράγοντα καρδιαγγειακού κινδύνου.
Atherosclerosis of the arteries is a major factor in cardiovascular risk.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | η αρτηρία | οι αρτηρίες |
| Genitive | της αρτηρίας | των αρτηριών |
| Accusative | την αρτηρία | τις αρτηρίες |
| Vocative | αρτηρία | αρτηρίες |
Word family
αρτηριακόςarterial
αρτηρίτιδαarteritis (inflammation of an artery)
αρτηριοσκλήρωσηarteriosclerosis
αρτηριοπάθειαarterial disease
Etymology
The word comes from ancient Greek ἀρτηρία, which named both the windpipe and the blood vessels we now call arteries. Ancient physicians found arteries empty of blood in cadavers, so they believed the vessels carried air rather than blood, and the same word covered both structures. The exact root is disputed among scholars, with some linking it to αἴρω, meaning to lift or raise, in reference to the pulse. Modern Greek kept the medical sense, and English borrowed the term directly as 'artery'.
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