Antiestrogen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of compound that neutralizes or reduces the impact of estrogen in various biological processes
2. A chemical agent that inhibits or counters the biological activity of estrogen in the body
3. A substance that prevents estrogen from binding to its receptors, thereby reducing estrogen's influence

Etymology: Estrogen itself is a modern coinage built from older Greek parts: "oîstros", meaning a gadfly or a frenzy, which Latin borrowed as "oestrus" for the heat or frenzy of animals in mating season, plus "-gen", from Greek "génos" meaning kind or birth, which gives the sense of something that produces or generates. Estrogen is thus, roughly, a "heat-producer," and the name reflects the hormone's role in driving reproductive cycles. Antiestrogen is simply the prefix "anti-", from Greek "antí" meaning "against" or "opposite," attached to estrogen. The word describes a substance that works against that hormone, blocking it from attaching to its receptors. Because it is a straightforward compound of two parts, its meaning follows directly from them: "against the heat-producer."