amputate
|am-pu-tate|
🇺🇸
/ˈæmpjəˌteɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈæmpjʊteɪt/
cut off
Etymology
'amputate' originates from Late Latin, specifically the word 'amputare', where 'am-' is a variant of 'ab-' meaning 'away' and 'putare' meant 'to prune, to clean or trim'.
'amputate' changed from the Late Latin word 'amputare' and entered English via medical/Scholastic Latin in the early modern period, becoming the modern English 'amputate'.
Initially, the Latin sense was related to 'pruning' or 'cutting away', and over time it narrowed to the specific medical sense of surgically removing a limb, which is its modern meaning.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
noun form of 'amputate': the act or operation of amputating; a surgical removal of a limb or other body part.
After the accident doctors discussed whether to amputate.
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Noun 2
derived noun related to 'amputate': a person who has had a limb removed (amputee).
When surgeons amputate, rehabilitation often begins soon after.
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Verb 1
to cut off a limb, appendage, or other part of the body, especially by surgical operation; to remove by cutting.
Surgeons may have to amputate to prevent the spread of infection.
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Last updated: 2026/01/11 07:50