Cicatrizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The healing process after an injury results in scar formation through tissue regeneration
2. The act of repairing damaged tissue leads to the creation of scars as part of recovery
3. The process of closing a wound by forming scar tissue to restore damaged skin or tissue

Etymology: Cicatrizing is the present participle of "cicatrize", which traces back to Latin "cicatrix", meaning a scar, the mark left when a wound closes over. The verb is a plain formation: "cicatrix" was taken into English as a noun, and "-ize" was then attached to make a verb meaning to form a scar, to heal over with scar tissue. The suffix itself has a long pedigree, passing from Ancient Greek through Late Latin and Middle French before reaching English. The "-ize" element is the more interesting part of the story. It began in Greek as a verb ending that turned nouns and adjectives into verbs of making or becoming, and it spread through Latin and French into English, where it became one of the most productive suffixes for creating new verbs. Coining "cicatrize" simply applied that machinery to a medical noun, so the word describes the healing process in a single action.

Synonyms: healing, scarring, mending, closing, recovering

Antonyms: worsening, deteriorating, infecting, aggravating, damaging