prosthesis

P3R1O1S1T1H4E1S1I1S1
/pɹɒsˈθiːsɪs//ˈpɹɒsθəsɪs/

noun

An artificial replacement for a body part, either internal or external.

Similar
prosthetic device
OriginAncient Greek πρόσθεσις ← Proto-Indo-European *próti →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounprosthesis (countable and uncountable, plural prostheses)

plural prostheses

  1. countableuncountablemedicineAn artificial replacement for a body part, either internal or external.

    Gong believes the fiber-reinforced hydrogel could be used to create biomaterials, such as artificial organs and prostheses, able to endure everyday wear-and-tear.

    2017 July 16, Jenny Marc, Katy Scott, “Revolutionary gel is five times stronger than steel”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2025
  2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesProthesis.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouncorrective consisting of a replacement for a part of the body

Similar
prosthetic device
Broader
correctiverestorative
Also see
prothesis

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*próti
  2. Ancient Greekπρόσθεσις“addition”
  3. Englishprosthesis

Via Latin, from Ancient Greek πρόσθεσις (prósthesis, “addition”), from προστίθημι (prostíthēmi, “to add”), from πρός (prós, “towards”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to place”), from Proto-Indo-European *próti, *préti + *dʰédʰeh₁ti (“to be putting, to be placing”). By surface analysis, prosth- + -esis.

More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans protese
  • proteseartificial replacement for a body part
Arabic بَدِيل اِصْطِنَاعِيّ, طَرَف اِصْطِنَاعِيّ
  • بَدِيل اِصْطِنَاعِيّ (badīl iṣṭināʕiyy)artificial replacement for a body part
  • طَرَف اِصْطِنَاعِيّ (ṭaraf iṣṭināʕiyy)artificial replacement for a body part
Bulgarian проте́за
  • проте́за (protéza)artificial replacement for a body part
Catalan pròtesi
  • pròtesiartificial replacement for a body part
Chinese Mandarin 義肢 /义肢, 假肢
  • 義肢 /义肢 (yìzhī)artificial replacement for a body part
  • 假肢 (jiǎzhī)artificial replacement for a body part
Czech protéza
  • protézaartificial replacement for a body part
Danish protese
  • proteseartificial replacement for a body part
Dutch prothese
  • protheseartificial replacement for a body part
Esperanto protezo
  • protezoartificial replacement for a body part
Estonian protees
  • proteesartificial replacement for a body part
Finnish proteesi, tekoraaja
  • proteesiartificial replacement for a body part
  • tekoraajaartificial replacement for a body part
French prothèse
  • prothèseartificial replacement for a body part
German Prothese, Kunstglied
  • Protheseartificial replacement for a body part
  • Kunstgliedartificial replacement for a body part
Greek πρόθεση
  • πρόθεση (próthesi)artificial replacement for a body part
Hebrew תּוֹתָב, פְּרוֹתֶזָה
  • תּוֹתָב (totáv)artificial replacement for a body part
  • פְּרוֹתֶזָה (proteza)artificial replacement for a body part
Hungarian protézis
  • protézisartificial replacement for a body part
Icelandic gervilimur
  • gervilimurartificial replacement for a body part
Irish próistéis
  • próistéisartificial replacement for a body part
Italian protesi
  • protesiartificial replacement for a body part
Japanese 義肢
  • 義肢 (gishi)artificial replacement for a body part
Korean 의지, 보철
  • 의지 (uiji)artificial replacement for a body part
  • 보철 (bocheol)artificial replacement for a body part
Latvian protēze
  • protēzeartificial replacement for a body part
Lithuanian protezas
  • protezasartificial replacement for a body part
Norwegian Bokmål protese
  • proteseartificial replacement for a body part
Persian پروتز, اندام مصنوعی
  • پروتز (porotez)artificial replacement for a body part
  • اندام مصنوعی (andâm-e masnu'i)artificial replacement for a body part
Polish proteza
  • protezaartificial replacement for a body part
Portuguese prótese
  • próteseartificial replacement for a body part
Romanian proteză
  • protezăartificial replacement for a body part
Russian проте́з
  • проте́з (protɛ́z)artificial replacement for a body part
Slovak protéza
  • protézaartificial replacement for a body part
Spanish prótesis
  • prótesisartificial replacement for a body part
Swahili kiungo bandia
  • kiungo bandiaartificial replacement for a body part
Swedish protes
  • protesartificial replacement for a body part
Turkish protez
  • protezartificial replacement for a body part
Ukrainian проте́з
  • проте́з (protéz)artificial replacement for a body part
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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