Main Entry: ²cesarean

Variant(s): or caesarean also cesarian or caesarian

Function: noun

: cesarean section

Cae·sar \ˈsē-zər\ , Gaius Julius (100–44 ???), Roman general and statesman. Caesar's connection with the cesarean section is unclear. It is thought by some that the operation was named after Caesar himself because of the popular, although probably erroneous, belief that he was born by this means. On the other hand, it is argued that the general's family, the Julii, acquired the cognomen Caesar (from Latin caedere, to cut) because the operation was once performed on a forebear. It is also thought that cesarean section may derive from lex Caesaria, the name, under the Caesars, for the law that ordered the operation be performed on women dying in late pregnancy or in childbirth.