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meconium

 - 5 dictionary results

me⋅co⋅ni⋅um

  [mi-koh-nee-uhm]
Use meconium in a Sentence
–noun
1. the first fecal excretion of a newborn child, composed chiefly of bile, mucus, and epithelial cells.
2. fecal mass released at pupation by the larvae of some insects.
3. the milky sap of the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy; crude opium.
Origin:
1595–1605; < L < Gk mēknion, dim. of mkōn poppy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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me·co·ni·um   (mĭ-kō'nē-əm)   
n.  A dark green fecal material that accumulates in the fetal intestines and is discharged at or near the time of birth.

[Latin mēcōnium, poppy juice, from Greek mēkōnion, from mēkōn, poppy.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

meconium 
"fecal discharge from a newborn infant," 1706, from L. meconium "excrement of a newborn child," from Gk. mekonion, lit. "poppy-juice, opium," dim. of mekon "poppy" (cognate with O.C.S. maku, Ger. Mohn "poppy"). So called by classical physicians for its resemblance.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: me·co·ni·um
Pronunciation: mi-'kO-nE-&m
Function: noun
: a dark greenish mass of desquamated cells, mucus, and bile thataccumulates in the bowel of a fetus and is typically discharged shortly after birth
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

meconium me·co·ni·um (mĭ-kō'nē-əm)
n.

  1. A dark green fecal material that accumulates in the fetal intestines and is discharged at or near the time of birth.

  2. See opium.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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