pessary
Americannoun
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pessaries
plural
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a device worn in the vagina to support a displaced uterus.
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a vaginal suppository.
noun
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a device for inserting into the vagina, either as a support for the uterus or ( diaphragm pessary ) to deliver a drug, such as a contraceptive
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a medicated vaginal suppository
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pessary
1350–1400; Middle English pessarie < Late Latin pessārium a suppository, equivalent to Latin pess ( um ), pess ( us ) (< Greek pessós oval stone used in a game) + -ārium -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A third of all deliveries were induced, meaning labour was started using artificial methods such as a hormone drip or a pessary.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
A common treatment for prolapse, a device called a pessary, actually resembles a menstrual cup.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2024
Some, like this bronze Roman pessary dated between 200 B.C. and 400 C.E., were used to support the uterus.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 19, 2016
“The surgery was like a miracle” said Potts, whose uterine prolapse had worsened over eight years and was not alleviated by a pessary.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2015
I introduced a stem pessary, being tempted to try this instrument, which I rarely use, by the knowledge that she was at perfect rest, and that no form of Hodge had previously been retained.
From Fat and Blood An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria by John K. Mitchell
It is administered using gels, creams, pessaries, tablets or sprays.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024
Pelvic floor exercises and lifestyle changes can help to improve symptoms, but sometimes medical treatment is needed such as vaginal pessaries or surgery.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
The same hormone causes contractions in childbirth and is in the pessaries given to induce labour.
From The Guardian ● May 23, 2019
Although stem pessaries could prevent pregnancy, they were usually uncomfortable, and often caused infections.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 19, 2016
Boil all these together in honey and water and make a plaster, and make pessaries of gum galbanum, bdellium, ammoniac, figs, pig's fat and honey.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
