Endocrine

How to spell endocrine

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce endocrine

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does endocrine mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream, or to those hormones themselves.

Endocrine in a sentence

• The thyroid is part of the body's endocrine system.

• Her doctor referred her to an endocrine specialist for the hormone imbalance.

Where does endocrine come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is a modern scientific coinage built from two Greek elements: endon, meaning 'within' or 'inside', and krinein, a verb meaning 'to separate, sift, or distinguish'. The compound was put together by physiologists around the turn of the twentieth century to describe glands that release their products, the hormones, directly inward into the bloodstream rather than through a duct to a surface. The contrast term 'exocrine' uses the matching Greek exo, meaning 'outside', for glands that secrete outward, such as sweat or saliva glands. The krinein root is surprisingly well travelled: it also underlies 'crisis' and 'critic', words that all share the idea of separating or deciding. Knowing that the ending is the Greek 'crine' (to secrete), not the plainer English '-crin' or '-cryne', is what fixes the spelling in mind.

How the word is built

• endo- (within, inside)
• -crine (from Greek krinein: to separate, to secrete)