Lactogenic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Associated with the stimulation of milk production in mammals
2. Referring to factors that induce lactation processes within certain species
3. Causing or encouraging the release of milk from mammary glands in animals

Etymology: Lactogenic is a plain technical coinage built from two parts: "lacto-", from Latin "lac" (genitive "lactis"), meaning milk, and "-genic", from Greek "-genēs" through the suffix "-genic", meaning producing or causing. Put together, the word describes something that produces or triggers milk secretion. The term belongs to the vocabulary of physiology and endocrinology, where researchers needed a single adjective for substances, hormones or stimuli that bring on lactation. Its meaning is literal: the root parts say exactly what the word does, with no metaphorical drift. The same pattern appears in other scientific compounds such as "carcinogenic" and "mutagenic," which likewise join a combining form with "-genic."

Synonyms: milk-producing, galactogenic, lactation-stimulating, breastfeeding-promoting, lactation-inducing