clitoridectomy

[klit-er-i-dek-tuh-mee]

noun, plural clit·o·ri·dec·to·mies.

the excision of the clitoris, usually performed as part of female initiation rites, mainly among certain African peoples, but also sometimes used in various societies to curb sexual desire; female circumcision.

Compare infibulation.

Origin of clitoridectomy

1865–70; clitorid- (combining form representing Greek kleitorís (genitive kleitorídos) clitoris) + -ectomy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for clitoridectomy

clitoridectomy

noun plural -mies

surgical removal of the clitoris: a form of female circumcision, esp practised as a religious or ethnic rite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for clitoridectomy

1866, from Greek klitorid- (see clitoris) + -ectomy. Originally in reference to a proposed cure for hysteria.

clitoridectomy in Medicine

clitoridectomy

[klĭt′ər-ĭ-dĕk′tə-mē, klī′tər-]

n.

Excision of the clitoris.