How do you pronounce tumescence?

The recorded pronunciation is /tjuːˈmɛsəns/.

tumescence

/tjuːˈmɛsəns/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.51 in modern English

Syllables: tumes-cence
IPA: /tjuːˈmɛsəns/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A swelling due to the presence of fluid.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A swollen bodily organ; used especially of erectile tissue.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"It is still more remarkable that the reeves also, even in the presence of the males, will court each other and have intercourse. We may associate this with the high erotic development of birds, the difficulty with which tumescence seems to occur in them, and their long courtships."

Etymology

First attested 1725, from French tumescence, from Latin tumescēns (“swelling”), present participle of tumēscō (“to begin to swell”), from tumeō (“to swell”) + -ēscō (incohative suffix) (English -esce, in this form -escence), stem from Proto-Indo-European *tum-éh₁- (“to be swelling”), stative stem of *tum- (“to swell”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: *tewh₂-, tumescence, tumescēns, *tum-éh₁-

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /tjuːˈmɛsəns/

Usage

Inflected Forms

tumescences (plural)

Derived Forms

detumescence

Phrases

nocturnal penile tumescence

Synonyms

tumidity turgescence turgidity turgor bloatedness bloating distension ectasia ectasis intumescence inturgescence nodosity