/ eɪˈɔːtə; NAmE eɪˈɔːrtə/ noun
( anatomy ) the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body once it has passed through the lungs
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent.: from Greek aortē (used in the plural by Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC, the Greek physician, regarded as the father of medicine), for the branches of the windpipe, and by Aristotle (384-322 BC, the philosopher and scientist), for the great artery), from aeirein raise.