thermography

[ ther-mog-ruh-fee ]

noun

1. a technique for imitating an embossed appearance, as on business cards, stationery, or the like, by dusting printed areas with a powder that adheres only to the wet ink, and fusing the ink and powder to the paper by heat.
2. Medicine/Medical. a technique for measuring regional skin temperatures, used especially as a screening method for detection of breast cancer.

thermography

/ θɜːˈmɒɡrəfɪ; ˌθɜːməʊˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1. any writing, printing, or recording process involving the use of heat
2. a printing process which produces raised characters by heating special powder or ink placed on the paper
3. med the measurement and recording of heat produced by a part of the body: used in the diagnosis of tumours, esp of the breast ( mammothermography ), which have an increased blood supply and therefore generate more heat than normal tissue See also thermogram

Derived Forms

• therˈmographer, noun
• thermographic, adjective

Other Words From

• ther·mogra·pher noun
• ther·mo·graph·ic [thur-m, uh, -, graf, -ik], adjective
• thermo·graphi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of thermography¹

First recorded in 1830–40; thermo- + -graphy