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visceral

UK/ˈvɪsəɹəl/US/ˈvɪsəɹəl/
adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,162 of 15,258leans written

Visceral means felt deep in the body rather than reasoned out. A visceral reaction, visceral hatred, visceral appeal.

It claims the response came before any thought, which is what makes it useful in criticism and dangerous in politics. The viscera are the internal organs, and the word rests on the old idea that feelings live in the gut.

Definitions of visceral

  1. 1adjectivevisceralFelt deep in the body rather than reasoned out.C1

    “She had a visceral fear of snakes, even the harmless ones at the zoo.”

visceral is a quality.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin visceralis comes from viscera, the internal organs.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *weys- — to rotate, turn

  2. Latin

    viscera

  3. Medieval Latin

    viscerālis — internal

  4. Middle French

    viscéral

  5. English, today

    visceral

Built from

  • vīscus · Latin — internal organ of the body

From Middle French viscéral (modern French viscéral), or from its etymon Medieval Latin viscerālis (“internal”) + -al. Viscerālis is derived from Latin viscera (a plural form of vīscus (“internal organ of the body”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European weys- (“to rotate, turn”)) + -ālis. 2

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

visceral in the wild

  • The visceral form starts with skin ulcers and later presents with fever, low red blood cell count, and enlarged spleen and liver.

    Leishmaniasis

  • Additionally, visceral disease can be diagnosed by blood tests.

    Leishmaniasis

  • The serous membrane that covers internal organs (viscera) is called visceral, while the one that covers the cavity wall is called parietal.

    Serous membrane

  • For the lungs they are called parietal and visceral pleura.

    Serous membrane

  • The general visceral afferent (GVA) fibers conduct sensory impulses (usually pain or reflex sensations) from the internal organs, glands, and blood vessels to the central nervous system.

    General visceral afferent fiber

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the viscera family

visceralviscera

visceral — used about once every 18,318 pages · #13,162 · point at the bar for the others