meconium
Americannoun
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the first fecal excretion of a newborn child, composed chiefly of bile, mucus, and epithelial cells.
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fecal mass released at pupation by the larvae of some insects.
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the milky sap of the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy; crude opium.
noun
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the dark green mucoid material that forms the first faeces of a newborn infant
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opium or the juice from the opium poppy
Etymology
Origin of meconium
1595–1605; < Latin < Greek mēkṓnion, diminutive of mḗkōn poppy
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.
They’ve also been detected in blood, breast milk and even meconium — an infant’s first stool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026
However, Ava-Lea had been starved of oxygen as a result of breathing in meconium and died on 29 August, aged just 35 hours, the law firm said.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2024
The group is now investigating the occurrence of microbial metabolites in other mammals: piglets and calves, as well as in the meconium and amniotic fluid samples of babies.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2023
Lo wrote that doctors discovered her newborn swallowed meconium, which led to pneumonia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
The first milk is watery, it must be almost an aperient, to purge the remains of the meconium curdled in the bowels of the new-born child.
From Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
