Oma

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈoʊmə/

Definitions

1. A suffix used in medical terminology to denote a tumor or neoplasm, often indicating a type of growth or swelling; a hereditary or familial suffix in some cultures; an informal term sometimes used to refer to a grandmother
2. A common ending in pathology indicating abnormal tissue masses or cancers; a familial name component in various languages; an affectionate or casual word for an older female relative, especially a grandmother
3. A medical suffix designating tumors or abnormal growths; a linguistic element in surnames or family names; a colloquial term for an elderly female family member, notably a grandmother

Etymology: The ending "-oma" in medicine is a Greek suffix, "-ōma," used to form nouns for a result or condition, and it was adopted by physicians in the 18th and 19th centuries to name abnormal growths. The most familiar example is "carcinoma," built on the Greek "karkinos," meaning crab. The crab image is often linked to the spreading veins around some tumours, though the exact origin of that comparison is uncertain. The suffix is also found in "sarcoma," from Greek "sarx," flesh, and in "lymphoma," from Latin "lympha," water. The grandmother sense is a separate, much more domestic word. "Oma" is the German affectionate term for a grandmother, a child-friendly form of the kind that appears in many languages, and it has spread into English and other tongues through family names and usage in German-speaking communities. Its link to the medical suffix is coincidental: the two share a spelling, but they have different origins.

Synonyms: tumor, cancer, neoplasm, growth, mass