cricothyroidotomy

noun

an emergency surgical procedure, a form of tracheotomy, in which a hole is cut through the patient's neck into the windpipe in order to allow air into the lungs

OriginAncient Greek τέμνω (témnō) ← Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ← English cricothyroid →
Scrabble 33
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncricothyroidotomy (plural cricothyroidotomies)

plural cricothyroidotomies

  1. medicinean emergency surgical procedure, a form of tracheotomy, in which a hole is cut through the patient's neck into the windpipe in order to allow air into the lungs

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
cricothyrotomy

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκρῐ́κος (krĭ́kos)
  2. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
  4. Proto-Hellenic*wéidos
  5. Ancient Greekεἶδος (eîdos)
  6. Ancient Greekκρῐκοειδής (krĭkoeidḗs)
  7. New Latincricoīdēs
  8. Englishcricoid
  9. Englishcrico-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*dʰwer-
  11. Proto-Hellenic*tʰurā
  12. Ancient Greekθῠ́ρᾱ (thŭ́rā)
  13. Ancient Greekθῠρεός (thŭreós)
  14. Ancient Greekθῠρεοειδής (thŭreoeidḗs)
  15. New Latinthyreoīdēs
  16. Englishthyroid
  17. Englishcricothyroid
  18. Proto-Indo-European*temh₁-
  19. Ancient Greekτέμνω (témnō)
  20. Englishcricothyroidotomy

From cricothyroid + -otomy.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cricothyroidotomy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cricothyroidotomy

MLA

“cricothyroidotomy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cricothyroidotomy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cricothyroidotomy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cricothyroidotomy.

Source: cricothyroidotomy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.