viscus

English

Etymology

From New Latin, from Latin viscus (“any internal organ of the body”), perhaps akin to English viscid.

Pronunciation

• Homophone: viscous
• Rhymes: -ɪskəs

Noun

viscus (plural viscera)

1. (anatomy) One of the organs, as the brain, heart, or stomach, in the great cavities of the body of an animal; especially used in the plural, and applied to the organs contained in the abdomen.
2. Specifically, the intestines.

Synonyms

• entrails
• innards
• intestines
• offal

Derived terms

• eviscerate
• visceral

Translations

organ in the abdomen

• Catalan: víscera f
• Galician: víscera (gl) f

• Spanish: víscera (es) f

the intestines

• Hungarian: zsiger (hu)

See also

• viscus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• viscous

References

• viscus in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• viscus in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• viscus at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Latin

Etymology

Of unclear origin; possibly Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to turn, rotate”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈwis.kus/, [ˈwɪs.kʊs]

Noun

viscus n (genitive visceris); third declension

1. Any internal organ of the body.
2. (anatomy) entrails, viscera

Inflection

Third declension neuter.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	viscus	viscera
genitive	visceris	viscerum
dative	viscerī	visceribus
accusative	viscus	viscera
ablative	viscere	visceribus
vocative	viscus	viscera

Related terms

• viscum

Descendants

• English: viscera
• Portuguese: víscera

References

• viscus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• viscus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “viscus” in Félix Gaffiot’s Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette (1934)
• Roberts, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots