circumcision

play

noun cir·cum·ci·sion \ˌsər-k^əm-ˈsi-zhən, ˈsər-k^əm-ˌ\

Definition of circumcision

1a : the act of circumcising; especially : the cutting off of the foreskin of males that is practiced as a religious rite by Jews and Muslims and by others as a social custom or for potential health benefits (such as improved hygiene)b : female genital mutilationc : the condition of being circumcised
2 capitalized : January 1 observed as a festival in some churches in commemoration of the circumcision of Jesus

Recent Examples of circumcision from the Web

Besides his hate for Clinton and circumcision, most of his other positions seem difficult to pin down.

— lizzy acker, OregonLive.com, "Who is Jeremy Christian? Facebook shows a man with nebulous political affiliations who hated circumcision and Hillary Clinton", 30 May 2017
Female circumcision, performed on as many as 3 million girls each year, complicates childbirth later in life and causes higher mortality among their babies, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

— wired blogs, WIRED, "Female circumcision kills mothers and babies", 2 June 2006

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'circumcision'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of circumcision

12th century

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

Medical Dictionary

circumcision

play

noun cir·cum·ci·sion \ˌsər-kəm-ˈsizh-ən\

Medical Definition of circumcision

1: the act of circumcising:a: the cutting off of the foreskin of males that is practiced as a religious rite by Jews and Muslims and as a sanitary measure in modern surgeryb: female genital mutilation
2: the condition of being circumcised