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
The following day, traces of meconium – a baby's first poo – were detected, which can be a sign of distress in a baby.
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
At birth the bowels of the calf contain the meconium, a tenacious, gluey, brownish-yellow material largely derived from the liver, which must be expelled before they can start their functions normally.
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.
