chiropractor
/ˈkaɪɹəpˌɹæktə/KIGH-ruh-prak-tur
/ˈkaɪɹəpˌɹæktɚ/KIGH-ruh-prak-tur
Meaningone who works by hand
Common meaning: one who treats by manipulating the spine
- chirthe handLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 830 · scan
- practto do, act; a deedLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1264 · scan
- oragent ending: the doer, or the device that does it
‘the hand’ + ‘to do, act’ → chiropractor
Journey through time
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- chir — Greek χείρ “the hand” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- pract — Greek πράσσω; πρᾶγμα “to do, act; a deed” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek χείρ ‘the hand’ + Greek πράσσω; πρᾶγμα ‘to do, act; a deed’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry πράσσω, p. 1264 · dictionary scan
Roots
- πράσσω; πρᾶγμα Greek “to do, act; a deed”
- χείρ Greek “the hand”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app