cyst
[sist]
- Pathology. a closed, bladderlike sac formed in animal tissues, containing fluid or semifluid matter.
- a bladder, sac, or vesicle.
- Botany, Mycology.
- a sporelike cell with a resistant, protective wall.
- a cell or cavity enclosing reproductive bodies.
- Zoology.
- a sac, usually spherical, surrounding an animal that has passed into a dormant condition.
- such a sac plus the contained animal.
- a capsule or resistant covering.
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Origin of cyst
cyst-
- variant of cysto-, before a vowel: cystectomy.
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-cyst
- variant of cysto-, as final element in a compound word: statocyst.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cyst
Contemporary Examples
In “The Incalculable Life Gesture,” an elementary school principal develops a cyst in his throat that may or may not be malignant.
Historical Examples
Was it complacence or suspicion that stirred the liquid in the cyst so smoothly?
This case had not proceeded far enough for the formation of the cyst or pus.
Cattle and Their DiseasesRobert Jennings
I had a cyst, of fifteen years' growth, on the back of my head.
My Adventures with Your MoneyGeorge Graham Rice
Except venereal disorders and a cyst, which he had as a child, has never been ill.
The CriminalHavelock Ellis
After emptying the cyst the gut was readily discovered and opened.
cyst
- pathol any abnormal membranous sac or blisterlike pouch containing fluid or semisolid material
- anatomy any normal sac or vesicle in the body
- a thick-walled protective membrane enclosing a cell, larva, or organism
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Word Origin
C18: from New Latin cystis, from Greek kustis pouch, bag, bladder
-cyst
- indicating a bladder or sacotocyst
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Word Origin
from Greek kustis bladder
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 cyst
n.
1713, from Modern Latin cystis (in English as a Latin word from 1540s), from Greek kystis "bladder, pouch."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cyst
(sĭst)- An abnormal membranous sac containing a gaseous, liquid, or semisolid substance.
- A sac or vesicle in the body.
- A small capsulelike sac that encloses certain organisms in their dormant or larval stage.
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cyst-
- Variant ofcysto-
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
cyst
[sĭst]
- An abnormal membranous sac in the body, containing a gaseous, liquid, or semisolid substance.
- A small, capsulelike form of certain organisms that develops in response to adverse or extreme conditions. Under adverse conditions, for instance, dinoflagellates form nonmotile resting cysts that fall to the ocean or lake bottom and can remain there for years before reviving. Certain invertebrates, such as the water bear (phylum Tardigrada), also develop cysts.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cyst
[(sist)]
An abnormal saclike structure that develops in the body and is filled with fluid or semisolid material.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.