Do you speak a little Greek when you say 'trauma'?

'Trauma' is a word borrowed from Greek 'trauma'. The word entered the English language some time around 1693.

trauma [noun] [circa 1693]

• an injury (as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic agent
• a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury
• an emotional upset
• an agent, force, or mechanism that causes trauma

See 'trauma' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Greek.

Etymology: Greek 'traumat-, trauma' wound, alteration of 'trōma;' akin to Greek 'titrōskein' to wound, 'tetrainein' to pierce

See more loan words from 1600s.