excrescence

American  

[ik-skres-uhns] / ɪkˈskrɛs əns /

noun

1. an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body.

   The patient had moles, swollen red dots, and other excrescences all over the body.

2. a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns.

3. any disfiguring addition.

4. abnormal growth or increase.

5. Phonetics. the insertion or addition of a sound, usually a consonant, as a result of articulatory interaction without grammatical or historical justification, like the t-sound in prince or the p-sound in hamster.

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excrescence British  

/ ɪkˈskrɛsəns, ˌɛkskrɪˈsɛnʃəl /

noun

1. a projection or protuberance, esp an outgrowth from an organ or part of the body

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Other Word Forms

• superexcrescence
  noun
• excrescential
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of excrescence

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; from Latin excrēscentia; see excrescent, -ence

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

excrescence

“Do you take this excrescence to be your husband?”

From Washington Post ● Jun. 11, 2020

Things didn't improve from there, with the Observer calling it "shameless excrescence" in 2017.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2020

Its head is a sculptural confection of broken cycles, its rear a writhing excrescence of black rubber loops.

From Economist ● Oct. 26, 2017

“It is the most absorbing of occupations, the least satisfying of desires, an aimless excrescence upon life. It annihilates a man.”

From The Guardian ● Sep. 14, 2016

But now a Hunnic arrow pierced the excrescence on his throat.

From Ekkehard. Vol. I (of II) A Tale of the Tenth Century by Joseph Victor von Scheffel