Cesarean
/sɪˈzɛəriən/noun
Relating to a surgical delivery of a baby through an incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus.
Did you know?The association with Julius Caesar is historically doubtful: Roman law may have required an operation on a dead or dying mother to attempt saving the child, while Caesar’s mother Aurelia reportedly lived for many years after his birth.
Etymological Timeline
1st Century BCE
Latin
Caesar
“A Roman family name and later imperial title; its ultimate origin is uncertain, though ancient writers connected it with caedere, “to cut.””
1st–4th Centuries
Latin
caesareus
“Of Caesar or imperial; the adjective from which later medical terminology developed.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
sectio caesarea
“A Caesarean section; literally, a cutting associated with Caesar.”
16th Century
English
cesarean
“Relating to delivery by surgical incision; adopted from medical Latin and continental European usage.”
Modern English
English
Cesarean
“A surgical method of delivering a baby through the abdomen and uterus.”