Caesarian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a surgical birth in which the infant is removed through a cut made in the mother's abdomen ; relating to the Roman dictator Julius Caesar ; characteristic of the rule or style of a Roman emperor
2. A procedure delivering a baby through an incision in the belly wall ; pertaining to the Roman statesman Julius Caesar ; resembling the authority or manner of the Caesars of ancient Rome
3. Involving the operative removal of an infant from the womb through the abdomen ; connected with Gaius Julius Caesar ; having the imperial character associated with the emperors of Rome

Etymology: The word's most famous story is the one it is usually told with, and it is a myth. Many people believe Julius Caesar was born by cutting from his mother's womb, but the link is not sound: the Roman name Caesar does not come from the Latin verb "caedere" ("to cut"), and Caesar's mother Aurelia lived well past his birth. The surgical sense is a later back-formation from the name, and the procedure was given the name because of the legend, not the reverse. The word itself is built from the Latin name Caesar plus the suffix "-ianus," giving "Caesariānus," meaning "of Caesar" or "pertaining to Caesar." English borrowed it through Latin in this form, and it entered the language with the plain sense of relating to a Roman emperor or the Caesars. The surgical sense came later, and the spelling "Caesarean" with an "e" is the British form, while the "-ian" spelling is the American one.

Synonyms: cesarean, caesarean