*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tumor

From Middle English tumour, from Old French tumour, from Latin tumor (“swelling”), from tumeō (“bulge, swell”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tumēō, from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”). Related to English thumb.

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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

An abnormal growth; differential diagnosis includes abscess, metaplasia, and neoplasia.

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

From Middle English tumour, from Old French tumour, from Latin tumor (“swelling”), from tumeō (“bulge, swell”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tumēō, from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”). Related to English thumb.

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": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*tewh₂-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tumour"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tumour"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "tumour"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French tumour"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "tumor",
        "t": "swelling"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin tumor (“swelling”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*tumēō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *tumēō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*tewh₂-",
        "t": "to swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "thumb"
      },
      "expansion": "English thumb"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tumour",
      "tumour#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tumour",
      "tumour#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "tumor",
      "tumor#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "tumeō",
      "tumeo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*tumēō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/tumēō"
    ],
    [
      "*tewh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tewh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "thumb",
      "thumb#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "lang_code": "cy",
      "word": "tiwmor",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An abnormal growth; differential diagnosis includes abscess, metaplasia, and neoplasia."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "recordId": "814535f39d2828fa215d0e92ea84033249a3cc404c308bf715f30e1040257ddb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4ff0e1ed8112af237be1eaccaf81bb8e3638f031f7effbdf7a507ad39cfe024c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 200701
    }
  ],
  "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 tumor →

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-dHVtb3I