carcinoma
/ˌkɑɹsɪˈnoʊmə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.15 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An invasive malignant tumour derived from epithelial tissue that tends to metastasize to other areas of the body.
Countable
Example Sentences
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin carcinōma (“tumour; ulcer; carcinoma”), from Ancient Greek κᾰρκῐ́νωμᾰ (kărkĭ́nōmă, “sore, ulcer; cancer”), from καρκινόω (karkinóō, “to make (something) resemble a crab”, in the mediopassive "to become cancerous; to suffer from cancer") + -μᾰ (-mă, action noun suffix). Καρκινόω is derived from καρκῐ́νος (karkĭ́nos, “crab; the zodiac sign Cancer; sore, ulcer; cancer”) (according to Paul of Aegina (c. 625 – c. 690) in his Medical Compendium in Seven Books, because the veins surrounding a cancerous tumour resemble a crab’s legs). The English word is a doublet of cancer, and may be analysed as carcino- + -oma. The plural form carcinomata is a learned borrowing from Latin carcinōmata, from Ancient Greek κᾰρκῐνώμᾰτᾰ (kărkĭnṓmătă).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑɹsɪˈnoʊmə/
- British English: /ˌkɑːsɪˈnəʊmə/