Laceration
/ˌlæsəˈreɪʃən/noun
A deep cut or tear in the skin or flesh.
Did you know?Laceration comes from Latin lacerare, “to tear to pieces,” from lacer, “torn, mangled,” a root that survives in English words like lacerate and dilacerate.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lak-
“to tear, split”
Latin
Latin
lacer
“torn, mangled, ragged”
Latin
Latin
lacerāre
“to tear to pieces, mangle”
Late Latin
Latin
lacerātiō
“a tearing, mangling”
Middle English
English
laceracion
“a tearing or mangling”
Modern English
English
laceration
“a deep cut or tear in the skin or flesh”
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