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ca·du·ce·us (kə-dsē-əs, -shəs, -dy-)
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n. pl. ca·du·ce·i (-sē-ī′)
1.
a. A herald's wand or staff, especially in ancient times.
b. Greek Mythology A winged staff with two serpents twined around it, carried by Hermes.
2. An insignia modeled on Hermes's staff and used as the symbol of the medical profession.
[Latin cādūceus, alteration of Greek dialectal kārūkeion, from kārūx, herald.]
ca·duce·an (-sē-ən, -shən) adj.
(click for a larger image)
caduceus
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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