alopecia
noun
Did you know?
What is the origin of alopecia?
Doctors use "alopecia" to refer to various forms of hair loss, including "alopecia areata," a sudden loss of hair in patches that involves little or no inflammation. It may surprise you to learn that the word ultimately derives from "alōpēx," the Greek word for "fox," but the connection makes sense if you think of a fox who is afflicted with mange, a disease with symptoms that include, among other things, loss of hair. Middle English speakers borrowed the Latin word alopecia, which comes from "alōpekia," a Greek term that can be translated as "mange on foxes."
Example Sentences
Allure Staff, Allure, 11 Aug. 2022 Rock’s joke about her baldness, which many noted may have been a sensitive topic due to her alopecia. Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 July 2022 How to manage your retirement account in a bear market Stocks just entered a bear market — here's what that means for your money First drug to treat alopecia OK'd by FDA. Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 14 June 2022 Smith confronted Rock on stage after the comedian make a joke about Pinkett Smiths' shaved head; the actress has alopecia and has been candid about her struggles with the condition. Oliver Gettell, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2022 Following a dramatic Oscars ceremony in which a Chris Rock joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia led to a viral onstage confrontation, the much-misunderstood autoimmune disorder is trending once more. Poppy Roy, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2022 Seeing that his wife — who struggles with her alopecia — was offended, Will Smith walked up to the stage and slapped the comic across the face. Kristina Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022 During the episode, the actor had an emotional conversation with Nicole Ball, whose 12-year-old daughter, Rio, died by suicide after being bullied at school for her alopecia. Natacha Larnaud, CBS News, 2 June 2022 Pinkett Smith was then joined by her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and daughter, Willow Smith, to discuss the actress' struggle with deep anxiety over her alopecia. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 1 June 2022 See More Word History
Middle English allopicia, allopucia "hair loss," borrowed from Medieval Latin allōpicia, allōpitia "baldness, mange," going back to Latin alōpecia "bald patch on the head (from a skin disease)," borrowed from Greek alōpekía "bald spot" (Aristotle), "disease causing hair loss" (Galen), original sense perhaps "sarcoptic mange (affecting foxes and other canids)," from alōpek-, alṓpēx "fox" + -ia -ia entry 1; alṓpēx probably going back to dialectal Indo-European *h2lōpeḱ-/*h2lōpēḱ- "small canid, fox" (whence, besides Greek, Armenian ałuēs "fox") and *h2leupēḱ- or *h2loupēḱ- (whence Sanskrit lopāśáḥ "small canid [as a jackal or fox]," Middle Persian rōpās, rōpāh "fox," Khotanese rrūvāsa- "jackal," Ossetic (Iron dialect) rubas, ruvas "fox")
Note: An initial element *(h2)lop-, close to the Greek, Armenian, and Indo-Iranian forms but with a short o, is apparently reflected in Celtic *lop-erno-, whence Old Welsh leuyrn, leuirn "foxes" (from *lou̯ern-ī with vowel affection; cf. Modern Welsh llewyrn, tân llewyrn "foxfire"), Breton louarn "fox," and Lithuanian lãpė "fox," Latvian lapsa. The long o in alṓpēx could perhaps be taken as a reflection of an original nominative *h2lōp-s, but the diphthong in the Indo-Iranian etymon remains unexplained. The element *(h2)lop- has been compared with *u̯l̥p- "small carnivore" proposed as the source of Latin vulpēs, volpēs "fox" (see vulpine), Lithuanian vilpišỹs "wildcat" and other words, but no unifying etymon can be readily reconstructed. If related, the set of "fox" forms are perhaps traces of a non-Indo-European Wanderwort acquired by Indo-European branches at different times and places.
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
alopecia
noun