hemophilia

[ hee-muh-fil-ee-uh, -feel-yuh, hem-uh- ]

noun
  1. any of several X-linked genetic disorders, symptomatic chiefly in males, in which excessive bleeding occurs owing to the absence or abnormality of a clotting factor in the blood.

Origin of hemophilia

1
From New Latin, dating back to 1850–55; see origin at hemo-, -philia

Words Nearby hemophilia

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

How to use hemophilia in a sentence

Scientific definitions for hemophilia

hemophilia

[ hē′mə-fĭlē-ə ]


  1. Any of several hereditary coagulation disorders, seen almost exclusively in males, in which the blood fails to clot normally because of a deficiency or an abnormality of one of the clotting factors.

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

Cultural definitions for hemophilia

hemophilia

[ (hee-muh-fil-ee-uh, hee-muh-feel-yuh) ]


A hereditary disease caused by a deficiency of a substance in the blood that aids in clotting. Hemophiliacs can bleed to death even from small cuts and bruises, because their blood has largely lost the ability to clot.

Notes for hemophilia

Queen Victoria of Britain, whose descendants have been kings and queens of several countries in Europe, carried the gene for hemophilia, which has turned up repeatedly in royal families since her lifetime. Her great-grandson, the heir to the throne of Russia, suffered from the disease, and his parents fell under the influence of the monk Grigori Rasputin in hopes of a miraculous cure. The resulting chaos in the government of Russia helped bring on the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.