listhesis

L1I1S1T1H4E1S1I1S1

noun

A forward (anterior) displacement (slippage) of a vertebra over a lower segment.

OriginAncient Greek ὀλισθάνω →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounlisthesis (plural listheses)

plural listheses

  1. A forward (anterior) displacement (slippage) of a vertebra over a lower segment.

    Type 1 facetal malalignment was when the facet of atlas was dislocated anterior to the facet of axis on lateral imaging and simulates lumbosacral listhesis.

    2015 July 28, Atul Goel, “Craniovertebral Junction Instability: A Review of Facts about Facets”, in Asian Spine Journal, volume 9, →DOI
  2. Any such displacement, anterior or otherwise.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὀλισθάνω“to slip, to slide”
  2. Englishlisthesis

From reanalysis of spondylolisthesis as spondylo- + listhesis. The second element would be more accurately written olisthesis; it is from Ancient Greek ὀλισθάνω (olisthánō, “to slip, to slide”). Compare olistostrome. The word first appears in a 1912 medical terminology reference.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

listhesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/listhesis

MLA

“listhesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/listhesis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “listhesis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/listhesis.

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