Neurofibromas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Benign tumors that grow from nerve sheaths and form soft lumps under the skin or along nerves
2. Noncancerous growths arising from the coverings of nerves, often appearing as small bumps on the body
3. Harmless nodular tumors developing in the tissue surrounding nerves, frequently linked to a hereditary condition

Etymology: Neurofibromas is simply the plural of "neurofibroma", and the word is a plain modern compound: "neuro-", from Ancient Greek "neûron" meaning sinew or nerve, joined to "fibroma", a tumor made of fibrous tissue. The "-oma" ending comes from Ancient Greek "-ōma", which forms names for swellings and growths, so the word as a whole reads roughly as "nerve fibrous-growth". The "fibroma" part is itself a built word, formed from "fibro-", from Latin "fibra" meaning fiber, and the Greek-derived "-oma". Medical terms like this were assembled from classical building blocks as scientific vocabulary developed, so the Greeks themselves never used "neurofibroma" or its parts in this combined sense.