meromelia

M3E1R1O1M3E1L1I1A1

noun

A birth defect characterized by the lacking of a part, but not all, of one or more limbs with the presence of a hand or foot, resulting in a shrunken and deformed extremity.

OriginAncient Greek μέλος →
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Meanings

nounmeromelia (countable and uncountable, plural meromelias)

plural meromelias

  1. countableuncountableA birth defect characterized by the lacking of a part, but not all, of one or more limbs with the presence of a hand or foot, resulting in a shrunken and deformed extremity.

    As already mentioned, limb deficiencies – amelias and meromelias – represent an important group of limb abnormalities.

    2006, Patrizia Ferretti, Andrew Copp, Cheryll Tickle, Embryos, Genes and Birth Defects, page 126

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekμέλος“limb”
  2. Englishmeromelia

From mero- (“part, partial”) + Ancient Greek Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos, “limb”) + -ia (“disease suffix”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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