ichor

English

WOTD – 29 May 2021

Etymology

Sense 1 (“liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods”) is borrowed from Medieval Latin ichor, from Ancient Greek ῑ̓χώρ (īkhṓr, “fluid running through the veins of gods, ichor; watery part of blood, lymph, serum; watery part of milk, whey; gravy; pus; naphtha”);^[1] further etymology unknown, probably from Lua error in Module:parameters at line 370: Parameter 2 should be a valid language, etymology language or family code; the value "pregrc" is not valid. See WT:LOL, WT:LOL/E and WT:LOF..

Sense 2.3 (“fetid, watery discharge from a sore”) is from Middle English icor, icore [and other forms],^[2] from Medieval Latin ichor; see further above.

Pronunciation

Lua error in Module:parameters at line 370: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA^(key): /ˈaɪkɔː/, /-kə/, /ˈɪkə/
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 370: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA^(key): /ˈaɪkɔɹ/

Noun

ichor (countable and uncountable, plural ichors)

(Greek mythology) The liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods. [from late 17th c.]
- 1720, Alexander Pope, The Iliad:
  This said, she wiped from Venus’ wounded palm / The sacred ichor, and infused the balm.
(by extension)
1. (poetic, also figuratively) The blood of human beings or animals; also (obsolete) the clear, fluid portion of blood; blood plasma, plasma.
  - 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers:
    He had merely meant to express his feeling that the streams which ran through their veins were not yet purified by time to that perfection, had not become so genuine an ichor, as to be worthy of being called blood in the geneological sense.
  - 1936, Robert Frost, Departmental:
    Wrap him for shroud in a petal. / Embalm him with ichor of nettle.
  - 1989: They will not live / As shades but angle forward to enjoy / The pluck of life, the pressure of their ichor. — Peter Porter, 'They Come Back More', from Possible Worlds, 1989
  - 2002: Like snow fall you cry a silent storm. / Your tears paint rivers on this oaken wall / Amber nectar / misery ichor. — Agalloch, 'You were but a ghost in my arms', from the Mantle, 2002
2. (geology, archaic) A fluid believed to seep out from magma and cause rock to turn into granite.
3. (pathology, obsolete) A fetid, watery discharge from a sore; pus.

Derived terms

ichorhaemia, ichorhemia, ichorrhaemia (dated)
ichoroid
ichorous
petrichor

Translations

liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods

Greek:
Ancient: ῑ̓χώρ m (īkhṓr)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Italian: icore (it) m

blood of human beings or animals — see blood

fluid believed to seep out from magma and cause rock to turn into granite

(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

fetid, watery discharge from a sore — see also pus

Greek:
Ancient: ῑ̓χώρ m (īkhṓr)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Polish: posoka (pl) f

References

^ “ichor, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2020; “ichor, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ “icor(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Anagrams

chiro, chiro-, choir, chori

[1] “ichor, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2020; “ichor, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[2] “icor(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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