Etymology

meconium

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Latin mēcōnium ← Ancient Greek μηκώνιον
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromμηκώνιον“poppy-juice, opium”
  2. Latin · borrowed frommēcōnium“opium; excrement of a newborn child”
  3. English todaymeconium

From Latin mēcōnium (“opium; excrement of a newborn child”), from Ancient Greek μηκώνιον (mēkṓnion, “poppy-juice, opium”), from μήκων (mḗkōn, “poppy”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.