*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of atony

Borrowed from New Latin atonia, from Ancient Greek ἀτονία (atonía, “languor”), from ἄτονος (átonos, “languid”), from ἀ- (a-, “privative”) + τόνος (tónos, “accent”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”).

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Lack of muscle tone; flaccidity or atonia

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from New Latin atonia, from Ancient Greek ἀτονία (atonía, “languor”), from ἄτονος (átonos, “languid”), from ἀ- (a-, “privative”) + τόνος (tónos, “accent”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-new",
        "3": "atonia"
      },
      "expansion": "New Latin atonia"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ἀτονία",
        "4": "",
        "5": "languor"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἀτονία (atonía, “languor”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "atonia",
      "atonia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ἀτονία",
      "ἀτονία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ἄτονος",
      "ἄτονος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ἀ-",
      "ἀ-#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "τόνος",
      "τόνος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "τείνω",
      "τείνω#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Lack of muscle tone; flaccidity or atonia"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "recordId": "387f5f76f264fc3cf33292bdd98024147fd27167a5de1c2d5aec0e71757ab8fd",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e8293ab2acc8ae4c3828fced283796390e1ffcfa3284695719b7016f1320b897",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1522630
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for atony →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YXRvbnk