Apotemnophobia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. an intense fear of losing or being separated from a limb or body part
2. an extreme dread of amputation or the removal of one's extremities
3. a profound anxiety disorder involving terror of limb loss or bodily dismemberment

Etymology: Apotemnophobia is a modern coinage, built from ancient Greek parts that were never combined this way in antiquity. Its first element, "apo", means "away", and its second, "temnein", means "to cut". Attached to "-phobia", the Greek suffix for an irrational fear, the parts produce a term for dread of having a limb or body part cut off. The compound is a learned formation, the sort of word a physician or writer assembles from classical building blocks when an existing English word will not do. Because the pieces are Greek, the word sounds ancient, but its shape reflects the scientific vocabulary of the modern era rather than any ancient usage. Its meaning rests entirely on the sum of its parts: "away", "cut", and "fear".