From Greek karkinos 'crab' (Hippocrates' name for tumors) + -genēs 'producing,' coined in the 19th century.
A substance or agent capable of causing cancer in living tissue.
From Greek karkinos 'crab' + -genēs 'born, producing.' Hippocrates named tumors karkinos because their swollen veins radiated outward like a crab's legs. The suffix -gen was added in the 19th century when the mechanism of cancer causation became a subject of research. Key roots: *kar- (Proto-Indo-European: "hard"), *ǵenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European: "to beget, produce").