dystocia

noun

dys·​to·​cia dis-ˈtō-sh(ē-)ə How to pronounce dystocia (audio)
: slow or difficult labor or delivery

Examples of dystocia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When there is a shoulder dystocia, there are tried and true things that must be done. —Pilar Arias, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2024 Complications like shoulder dystocia are rare in obstetrics. —Adam Wolfberg, The Atlantic, 26 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, borrowed from Greek dystokía, from dys- dys- + tókos "childbirth, act of giving birth (of animals), offspring" + -ia -ia entry 1; tókos nominal ablaut derivative of tíktō, tíktein, aorist étekon, tekeîn "to give birth to, beget, generate," probably going back to Indo-European *teḱ- "generate, give birth to," base of the aorist stem *tetḱ- "generate, produce" — more at tectonic

Note: According to Helmut Rix, et al., Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Ausgabe (Wiesbaden, 2001), *te-tḱ- represents a pre-Indo-European reduplicated aorist from which *teḱ- was in effect back-derived. Other than Greek, there appears to be no evidence for *teḱ- as a simple verb, and the supposed connection of the nominal derivative téknon "child, young of an animal" with Germanic *þegna- "servant, retainer of a lord" has been seriously questioned (see thane).

First Known Use

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dystocia was circa 1706

Dictionary Entries Near dystocia

dysthymia

dystocia

dystonia

Cite this Entry

“Dystocia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystocia. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Medical Definition

dystocia

noun
dys·​to·​cia dis-ˈtō-sh(ē-)ə How to pronounce dystocia (audio)
variants or dystokia
-ˈtō-kē-ə How to pronounce dystocia (audio)
: slow or difficult labor or delivery compare eutocia
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