Meaning

noun the freezing of a seriously ill or recently deceased person to stop tissues from decomposing; the body is preserved until new medical cures are developed that might bring the person back to life

originEtymology tree Ancient Greek κρῠ́ος (krŭ́os)lbor. English cryo- English -n- Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic Old English -as Middle English -es English -s English -ics English cryonics From cryo- + -n- + -ics.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0