mesothelioma

M3E1S1O1T1H4E1L1I1O1M3A1
/ˌmɛsoʊˌθiliˈoʊmə//ˌmɛzoʊ-//ˌmɛsə-//ˌmɛzə-/

noun

An uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium, usually of the lungs after exposure to asbestos.

OriginEnglish mesothelium ← Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos) ← Proto-Hellenic *métsos →
CommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounmesothelioma (countable and uncountable, plural mesotheliomas or mesotheliomata)

plural mesotheliomas · plural mesotheliomata

  1. countableuncountablemedicineAn uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium, usually of the lungs after exposure to asbestos.

    He died a few weeks later, his mesothelioma perhaps caused by the asbestos-lined ceiling he cracked open at 430 King's Road. [Malcom] McLaren had stood there regaling in the mess, while everybody else ran for safety.

    2025 June 14, Paul Caruana Galizia, “Love, lies and punk”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Hellenic*métsos
  6. Ancient Greekμέσος (mésos)
  7. Englishmeso-
  8. Englishmesothelium
  9. Englishmesothelioma

From mesothelium + -oma.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 間皮瘤 /间皮瘤
  • 間皮瘤 /间皮瘤 (jiānpíliú)uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Czech mezoteliom
  • mezoteliomuncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Finnish mesoteliooma
  • mesotelioomauncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
French mésothéliome
  • mésothéliomeuncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
German Mesotheliom
  • Mesotheliomuncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Italian mesotelioma
  • mesoteliomauncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Japanese 中皮腫
  • 中皮腫 (chūhishu)uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Polish międzybłoniak
  • międzybłoniakuncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Russian мезотелио́ма
  • мезотелио́ма (mezotelióma)uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Spanish mesotelioma
  • mesoteliomauncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Swedish mesoteliom
  • mesoteliomuncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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