Clotting

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The physiological process where blood changes from a liquid state to a semi-solid form is vital for stopping bleeding
2. The natural mechanism by which blood thickens and forms a protective plug to prevent excessive hemorrhage
3. A biological response that transforms blood into a gel-like substance to seal wounds and impede fluid loss

Etymology: "Clotting" is simply the -ing form of "clot," so the story belongs to the older word. In Old English, "clott" meant a lump or mass of something, and it came from a Proto-West Germanic word meaning the same thing. That root also gave German "Klotz," meaning block, which shows how closely the idea of a solid lump runs through the family. The surprising connection is that "clot" has two English cousins that look unrelated. "Clod," for a lump of earth, and "klutz," American slang for a clumsy person, both descend from the same root. A clumsy person is, in a sense, a lump, and the link between the three words is the image of something heavy and shapeless. The medical sense grew out of the blood-lump meaning. A clot is a lump that forms when blood thickens and solidifies, and "clotting" names the process by which blood turns into that mass to close a wound.

Synonyms: coagulation

Antonyms: liquefaction