Metrorrhagia
/ˌmɛtrəˈreɪdʒiə/noun
Abnormal uterine bleeding, especially bleeding between menstrual periods.
Did you know?Metrorrhagia is built from Greek mētra, “womb/uterus,” and rhēgnynai, “to break forth,” so the word itself encodes a violent image of blood breaking out.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
μήτρα (mḗtra)
“womb, uterus”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥήγνυμι (rhḗgnumi)
“I break, burst forth”
Late Greek / Medical Greek
Greek
μητρορραγία (mētrorrhagía)
“uterine bleeding”
18th-19th Century
French/Medical Latin
métrorrhagie / metrorrhagia
“medical term for uterine hemorrhage”
Modern English
English
metrorrhagia
“abnormal bleeding from the uterus, especially between menstrual periods”
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