autotomy

American  

[aw-tot-uh-mee] / ɔˈtɒt ə mi /

noun

plural

autotomies

1. Zoology.

   1. separation of a body part.

   2. self-amputation of a damaged or trapped appendage.

2. the performance of surgery upon oneself.

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autotomy British  

/ ɔːˈtɒtəmɪ, ˌɔːtəˈtɒmɪk /

noun

1. the casting off by an animal of a part of its body, to facilitate escape when attacked

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Other Word Forms

• autotomic adjective
• autotomous adjective

Etymology

Origin of autotomy

First recorded in 1895–1900; auto- ¹ + -tomy

Example Sentences

Scorpions can detach a body part to escape a predator — a process called autotomy.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2022

But lizards may be the best-known users of autotomy.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022

Back at the lab, they pulled the lizards’ tails with their fingers, coaxing them into acts of autotomy.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022

The ability to drop appendages is known as autotomy, or self-amputation.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022

Passive modes of defence are as many and varied as are the active; one of the strangest and most inexplicable of these is that known as spontaneous amputation, technically termed autotomy.

From The Human Side of Animals by Dixon, Royal