The ancient Greek roots of the term Toxic

Abstract

In ancient Greek literature the adjective toxic (Greek: τoξικόν) derives from the noun τόξo, that is the arc. This noun according to the Liddell – Scott – Jones lexicon had several meanings. Apart from the meaning that someone is able to use a bow or the military department of the archers, the medical context of the term is that a substance has the characteristic of a poison. This concept of the term survived until today with little differentiation.

Keywords

• Toxic
• Poison
• Arc
• Ancient Greek medicine
• Byzantine medicine