petechia

P3E1T1E1C3H4I1A1
/pɪˈtiːkɪə/

noun

A small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin.

OriginNew Latin petechia ← Italian petecchie →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounpetechia (plural petechiae)

plural petechiae

  1. medicineA small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin.

    It is scurvy. All my authorities agree – weakness, diffused muscular pain, petechia, tender gums, ill breath – and M’Alister has no doubt of it.

    1973, Patrick O’Brian, HMS Surprise
    1 more example

    The marks on Jane's skin were petechiae, little hemorrhages that indicate lack of platelets in the blood. She needed two units of platelets transfused into her bloodstream.

    2005, Donald Hall, The Best Day the Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 97

Origin

  1. Italianpetecchie“skin eruptions”
  2. New Latinpetechia
  3. Englishpetechia

Learned borrowing from New Latin petechia, from Italian petecchie (“skin eruptions”, plural), probably from a popular Latin diminutive of petigo (“scab, eruption”) (from impetīgo).

More words from New Latin, Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan petèquia
  • petèquiaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Finnish petekkia
  • petekkiaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
French pétéchie
  • pétéchiea small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
German Petechien
  • Petechiena small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Italian petecchia
  • petecchiaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Polish wybroczyna
  • wybroczynaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Portuguese petéquia
  • petéquiaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Russian петехия, точечное кровоизлияние
  • петехия (petexija)a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • точечное кровоизлияниеa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Spanish petequia
  • petequiaa small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Turkish peteşi
  • peteşia small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
Ukrainian пете́хія
  • пете́хія (petéxija)a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

epitheca
Cite this entry
APA

petechia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petechia

MLA

“petechia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petechia. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “petechia,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petechia.

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