melena

M3E1L1E1N1A1
/mɪˈliːnə//məˈliːnə/US/ˈmɛlɪnə/

noun

The passage of dark, tarry stools containing blood, a result of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Similar
melaena
OriginNew Latin melaena ← Ancient Greek μέλαινα →
UncommonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

melena1

nounmelena (uncountable)

alternative melaena · alternative melæna

  1. uncountableThe passage of dark, tarry stools containing blood, a result of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Melena2

proper nounMelena (plural Melenas)

plural Melenas

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounabnormally dark tarry feces containing blood (usually from gastrointestinal bleeding)

Similar
melaena
Broader
fecal matterfaecal matterfeces

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekμέλαινα“black”
  2. New Latinmelaena
  3. Englishmelena

From New Latin melaena, based on Ancient Greek μέλαινα (mélaina, “black”).

More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

enamelLeemanmanele
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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