What does "noma" mean?

A gangrenous disease of humans leading to tissue destruction of the face, especially the mouth and cheek.

What is a synonym for "noma"?

Common synonyms include: canker, caries, gangrene, mortification, necrosis, slough.

//ˈnəʊmə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A gangrenous disease of humans leading to tissue destruction of the face, especially the mouth and cheek. uncountable
2
Initialism of non-orthogonal multiple access. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
3
acute ulceration of the mucous membranes of the mouth or genitals; often seen in undernourished children wordnet

From New Latin noma from Latin nomē from Ancient Greek νομή (nomḗ, “spreading (of sores)”) from νέμω (némō, “feed, devour, spread (of sores)”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.