Etymology
The term stems from the Greek τέρας teras (genitive τέρατος teratos), meaning “monster” or “marvel”, and λόγος logos, meaning “the word” or, more loosely, “the study of”.
As early as the 17th century, teratology referred to a discourse on prodigies and marvels of anything so extraordinary as to seem abnormal. In the 19th century, it acquired a meaning more closely related to biological deformities, mostly in the field of botany. Currently, its most instrumental meaning is that of the medical study of teratogenesis, congenital malformations or individuals with significant malformations. There are many pejorative terms that have historically been used to describe individuals with significant physical malformations. The term was popularized in the 1960s by Dr. David W. Smith of the University of Washington Medical School, one of the researchers who became known in 1973 for the discovery of Fetal alcohol syndrome. With greater understanding of the origins of birth defects, the field of teratology now overlaps with other fields of basic science, including developmental biology, embryology, and genetics.
Read more about this topic: Teratology
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)