cicatrix
Americannoun
plural
cicatrices-
Physiology. new tissue that forms over a wound and later contracts into a scar.
-
Botany. a scar left by a fallen leaf, seed, etc.
noun
-
the tissue that forms in a wound during healing; scar
-
a scar on a plant indicating the former point of attachment of a part, esp a leaf
Other Word Forms
- cicatricial adjective
- cicatricose adjective
Etymology
Origin of cicatrix
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: scar
Explanation
A cicatrix is the scar that's left behind on skin after a wound has healed. That raised mark on your hand where you burned yourself on a hot pan a few years ago? That's a cicatrix. You're much more likely to use the word scar, but cicatrix or cicatrice is common medical terminology, so the nurse who bandages your skinned knee is definitely familiar with this term. In Latin, cicatrix means "scar," and it's been used in medicine since the 17th century. Botanists use it too, for scars on tree bark: "You can see the cicatrix where they pruned that big branch, near the top."
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.
She remembers the painful transitions to spring, the sea grapes and the rains, her skin a cicatrix.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Even the cicatrix on his scalp was invisible, for his hair was made to cover it.
From In the Van; or, The Builders by Price-Brown, John
The formation of a cicatrix is evidently due to the intensity of the process in certain exceptional lesions, as a result of which the papill� of the corium are superficially destroyed.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
He no longer felt the smart, but the cicatrix was there, and he daily bowed to its symbolism, often without a thought of what it really meant.
From The Westerners by White, Stewart Edward
The softened mass is finally absorbed, and the walls of the cyst, or capsule around it, gradually collapse and form a cicatrix.
From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
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.
