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excrescence

exc·res·cence

UK/ɛkˈskɹɛsəns/ US/ɪkˈskɹɛsəns/ uncommon

noun

1.

something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings

  • “the gun in his pocket made an obvious bulge”
  • “the hump of a camel”
  • “he stood on the rocky prominence”
  • “the occipital protuberance was well developed”
  • “the bony excrescence between its horns”
2.

(pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body

Origin

From Middle English, early 15th century, in sense “(action of) growing out (of something else)”. Borrowed from Latin excrescentia (“abnormal growths”), from excrescentem, from excrēscere, from ex- (“out”) (English ex-) + crēscere (“to grow”) (English crescent). Sense of “abnormal growth” from 1570s, from earlier excrescency (1540s in this sense).

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Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.