Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A scar left by the formation of new connective tissue over a healing sore or wound.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A cicatrice or scar.
- noun In conchology, the impression or mark of the muscular or ligamentous attachment in a bivalve shell; the ciborium.
- noun In entomology, a small, roughened, or depressed space on a surface, resembling a scar.
- noun In botany, the mark of attachment of a seed or leaf.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Med.) The pellicle which forms over a wound or breach of continuity and completes the process of healing in the latter, and which subsequently contracts and becomes white, forming the scar.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
scar that remains after thedevelopment of newtissue over arecovering wound orsore (also used figuratively).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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In the deeper portions of the tracks the extreme density of the cicatrix is a factor of great prognostic importance, since if it implicates muscles, tendons, vessels, or nerves, impairment of movement, circulatory disturbance, or signs of neuritis or nerve pressure are often witnessed.
Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre George Henry Makins
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When the effused lymph is not absorbed it organizes, either forming a sort of internal cicatrix which is harder than the surrounding tissues or increasing the density of the part by augmenting the amount of plastic material within it.
An Epitome of Practical Surgery, for Field and Hospital. 1863
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Obviously, the weeping wound of Northern Ireland is an unpleasant yet unmistakable cicatrix on the face of Ireland's political culture, part of its "cordite-scented past," as Mr. Foster puts it.
Burning Bright William Birdthistle 2008
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The small granulating surface soon healed, and at present a linear cicatrix alone tells of the injury he has sustained, while his thumb has all its movements and his hand a fine grasp.
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During this time the rag, adhering by means of a crust of inspissated blood collected beneath it, has continued perfectly dry, and it will be left untouched till the usual period for removing the splints in a simple fracture, when we may fairly expect to find a sound cicatrix beneath it.
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The small granulating surface soon healed, and at present a linear cicatrix alone tells of the injury he has sustained, while his thumb has all its movements and his hand a fine grasp.
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During this time the rag, adhering by means of a crust of inspissated blood collected beneath it, has continued perfectly dry, and it will be left untouched till the usual period for removing the splints in a simple fracture, when we may fairly expect to find a sound cicatrix beneath it.
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Many tattoo their bodies by inserting some black substance beneath the skin, which leaves an elevated cicatrix about half an inch long: these are made in the form of stars, and other figures of no particular beauty.
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The man, after waiting a while, will go to the doctor and show a large cicatrix in each eye, the result of an ulcerated cornea.
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah 2003
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That angered her so she jerked her head at his face, saying, "Where'd you get that, then?" as if the cicatrix that formed a curve on his cheek was his just reward for abandoning his people.
A Traitor to Memory George, Elizabeth 2001
bard commented on the word cicatrix
A puckered scar
June 17, 2008
knitandpurl commented on the word cicatrix
"This is your first impression as you travel (naturally by the objectionable conveyance) from Ryde to Ventnor; and the fact that the train rumbles along very smoothly and stops at half a dozen little stations, where the groups on the platform enable you to perceive that the population consists almost exclusively of gentlemen in costumes suggestive of unlimited leisure for attention to cravats and trousers (an immensely large class in England), of old ladies of the species denominated in France rentières, of young ladies of the highly educated and sketching variety, this circumstance fails to reconcile you to the chartered cicatrix which forms your course."
"English Vignettes" in English Hours by Henry James, pp 142-143 of the Oxford paperback edition
September 28, 2010
vendingmachine commented on the word cicatrix
See keloid scar. Can be hereditary. "The main problem is that cutting a keloid out often leads to an even bigger one forming later in the same place."
May 18, 2016
TankHughes commented on the word cicatrix
cicatriz is the word for scar in Spanish, so it must come from Latin. I learned it in a vocab unit on how to describe people's faces. It seemed impractical at the time but it stuck with me.
May 19, 2016