Myxomatous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a type of tissue that has a jelly-like or viscous quality
2. Describing an abnormal change in connective tissue that takes on a gelatinous appearance
3. Connected with tissue that feels gelatinous or mucous-like to the touch ; indicating a pathological transformation where connective tissue appears as a jelly-like substance

Etymology: Myxomatous is built from "myxoma," a medical term for a tumour made of soft, jelly-like connective tissue, plus the English suffix "-ous," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the qualities of" or "full of" the thing named. So the word describes anything with that loose, gelatinous texture. "Myxoma" itself is a modern coinage from Greek "myxa," meaning mucus or slime, combined with the medical suffix "-oma," used for tumours. Ancient Greek writers had no such word, so the term belongs to the age of scientific naming that gave pathology its precise vocabulary. The "myx-" element is also found in "myxomycete," the name for a group of slime moulds, which share the same slimy connotation.