Neurological

How to spell neurological

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce neurological

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does neurological mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the nerves or the nervous system, or to the medical study of these.

Neurological in a sentence

• The patient was referred to a specialist for a full neurological assessment.

• Chronic migraines can have a complex neurological basis.

Where does neurological come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is built from Greek roots. The first part comes from neuron, which to the ancient Greeks meant a sinew, cord, or tendon, and only later came to mean a nerve as anatomists mapped the body. The second part comes from logos, meaning 'word', 'reason', or 'study', the same element that ends countless field names such as biology and geology. 'Neurology' was assembled by scientists around the early nineteenth century to name the study of the nervous system, and the adjective 'neurological' followed soon after with the familiar -ical ending. The spelling trap lives in that quiet middle: the 'neuro' stays intact and the unstressed vowels before the stressed 'log' easily blur, so writers must trust the root rather than the sound.

How the word is built

• neuro- (nerve)
• log (study, from logos: word/study)
• -ical (adjective suffix)