aneurysm

or an·eu·rism

[ an-yuh-riz-uhm ]

nounPathology.
  1. a permanent cardiac or arterial dilatation usually caused by weakening of the vessel wall.

Origin of aneurysm

1
First recorded in 1650–60; from Greek aneúrysma “dilation,” equivalent to aneurys- (variant stem of aneurýnein “to dilate,” from an- an-3 + eurýnein “to widen, broaden”; cf. eury-) + -ma, noun suffix

Other words from aneurysm

  • an·eu·rys·mal, an·eu·ris·mal, adjective
  • an·eu·rys·mal·ly, an·eu·ris·mal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aneurysm in a sentence

  • Besides, sneezing sometimes causes the rupture of an aneurism; and so he gave up the snuff-box altogether.

    Bouvard and Pcuchet | Gustave Flaubert
  • This was a case of popliteal aneurism, operations for which had heretofore proved pretty uniformly fatal.

  • An experienced physician has but to feel the pulse once, and he knows that there is aneurism which will kill some time or other.

    Notes on Nursing | Florence Nightingale
  • These remind us of our aneurism needles, and it is interesting to note that Galen (ut supra) speaks of an ‘eyed hook’.

  • Doubtless mental anguish had reacted on the physical frame, and some disease, perhaps an aneurism, was undermining Julie's life.

    A Woman of Thirty | Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for aneurysm

aneurysm

aneurism

/ (ˈænjəˌrɪzəm) /


noun
  1. a sac formed by abnormal dilation of the weakened wall of a blood vessel

Origin of aneurysm

1
C15: from Greek aneurusma, from aneurunein to dilate, from eurunein to widen

Derived forms of aneurysm

  • aneurysmal, aneurismal, aneurysmatic or aneurismatic, adjective
  • aneurysmally, aneurismally, aneurysmatically or aneurismatically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for aneurysm

aneurysm

[ ănyə-rĭz′əm ]


  1. A localized, blood-filled dilation of a blood vessel or cardiac chamber caused by disease, such as arteriosclerosis, or weakening of the vessel or chamber wall. A ruptured aneurysm results in hemorrhage and is often fatal.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.