hormone

Definition

Any substance produced by one tissue and conveyed by the bloodstream to another to effect physiological activity.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁρμῶν (hormôn), present participle of ὁρμάω (hormáō, “to set in motion, to urge on”), from ὁρμή (hormḗ, “rapid motion forwards, onrush, onset, assault, impulse to do a thing, effort”).

Example Sentences

• "Interfemale dominance may be facilitated by female sex hormones as well as adrenal testosterone..."
• "Hormones are the bicycle couriers of the body, delivering chemical messages all around the teeming metropolis that is you."
• "The text recounts a 2011 experiment: Researchers tested 136 healthy young men’s testosterone levels, asked them about their political party affiliations, then gave them either a placebo or ten grams of AndroGel one percent, a high-end dose of a common form of testosterone often used in hormone replacement therapies. […] Alogaily and the paper’s co-authors argued that this is “evidence that neuro-active hormones affect political preferences”."

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