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Metastasis

//mɪˈtæstəsɪs// noun

Definitions

Noun

1
A change in nature, form, or quality. countable, uncountable
2
the spreading of a disease (especially cancer) to another part of the body wordnet
3
The transference of a bodily function or disease to another part of the body, specifically the development of a secondary area of disease remote from the original site, as with some cancers. countable, uncountable
"Stayed in her own house, searched her body each morning and examined her conscience each night for progressive symptoms of the metastasis she feared was in her."
4
The spread of something harmful to another location, such as the metastasis of a cancer. countable, figuratively, uncountable
5
A sudden or rapid transition from one point, topic or argument to another, often to evade an uncomfortable subject or to redirect the discussion. countable, rhetoric, uncountable

Etymology

Coined in 1829 by Joseph Récamier. From Late Latin, from Ancient Greek μετάστασις (metástasis, “removal, change”), from μεθίστημι (methístēmi, “to remove, to change”). By surface analysis, meta- + stasis.

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