suture

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A seam formed by sewing two edges together, especially to join pieces of skin in surgically treating a wound.
  2. Thread used to sew or stitch two edges (especially of skin) together.
  3. An area where separate terrane join together along a major fault.
  4. A type of fibrous joint bound together by Sharpey's fibres which only occurs in the skull.
  5. A seam or line, such as that between the segments of a crustacean, between the whorls of a univalve shell, or where the elytra of a beetle meet.
  6. The seam at the union of two margins in a plant.
  7. The procedure by which a subject comes to be identified with its own representation, as in the identification of the speaker with the sign “I” within a certain discourse; (by extension) any process by which the content of something is determined or supplied from outside itself.
verb
  1. To sew up or join by means of a suture.

Pronunciation

/ˈs(j)uː.tʃə/ [ˈs(j)ʊu̯.tʃə] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-suture.wav /ˈs(j)uː.tjʊə/ [ˈs(j)ʊu̯.tʰjʊə] /ˈsu.t͡ʃɚ/ [ˈsʊu̯.t͡ʃɚ] ~ [ˈsʊu̯.t͡ʃɹ̩]

Word forms

suture sutures suturing sutured

Etymology

From Middle English suture, from Latin sūtūra (“suture”), from suere (“sew, join or tack together”) + -tūra (forms action nouns).

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