Amyotrophic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A term used to describe a disease involving the degeneration of motor neurons
2. Referring to a medical condition that leads to muscle wasting due to nerve cell deterioration
3. A condition characterized by the progressive loss of motor nerve cells resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy

Etymology: Amyotrophic is built from "amyotrophy," which itself combines Greek roots: "a-" meaning "without," "myo-" meaning "muscle," and "trophy," from Greek "trophē," meaning "nourishment." Literally, it describes muscle that has lost its nourishment, which is exactly what happens in the wasting disease the word names. Each part is a classical building block, but the whole was assembled in modern medical Greek-style coinage rather than by any ancient writer. The adjective ending "-ic" arrived by a long route. It comes from Latin "-icus," passed through Old French "-ique," and entered Middle English as "-ik" before settling into the modern "-ic" form. Tacking it onto "amyotrophy" simply turns the noun into a description of anything that causes or relates to that condition.