[identity profile] prettygoodword.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] 1word1day
rhytidectomy (rit-i-DEK-tuh-mee) - n., the surgical removal of facial wrinkles.


The technical medical term for a face-lift -- which, if you've ever been curious about it, involves removing some skin and pulling the rest tighter, a fairly tricky procedure, given the skin isn't flat and you have to redrape it over the flesh beneath. Which vastly oversimplifies current processes and techniques, but this is a lexical blog not a medical journal. Suffice it to say, coined around 1930 from Greek rhytid-, the stem form of rhytís, wrinkle + ec-, a form of ex-, out/away + tomia, cutting.

With Botox or the ever-popular rhytidectomy, the patina of age can be polished away -- at least for a brief time.

---L.
This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting
Page generated Jun. 17th, 2025 11:49 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios