Meconium
//mɪˈkəʊnɪ.əm// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A dark green mass, the contents of the fetal intestines during the later stages of mammalian gestation, that forms the first feces of the newborn. countable, uncountable
"The meconium is dark brownish-green in color. The first meconium passed is semi-solid, having been partially dried out in the large intestine."
- 2 thick dark green mucoid material that is the first feces of a newborn child wordnet
- 3 Opium. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Example
More examples"The meconium is dark brownish-green in color. The first meconium passed is semi-solid, having been partially dried out in the large intestine."
Etymology
From Latin mēcōnium (“opium; excrement of a newborn child”), from Ancient Greek μηκώνιον (mēkṓnion, “poppy-juice, opium”), from μήκων (mḗkōn, “poppy”).
Related phrases
More for "meconium"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.