autovivisection
|au-to-viv-i-sec-tion|
/ˌɔːtəvɪvəˈsɛkʃən/
self-performed vivisection (cutting/examining oneself alive)
Etymology
'autovivisection' originates from combining the Greek prefix 'auto-' meaning 'self' and the word 'vivisection' (from Latin roots), where 'vivus' meant 'alive' and Latin 'secare' meant 'to cut'.
'vivisection' derives from Latin elements 'vivus' + 'secare' ('cutting alive'), entered medical and scientific English in the 18th–19th centuries; 'autovivisection' is a later formation that prefixes 'auto-' to 'vivisection' to specify that the subject is oneself, attested in modern scientific/medical usage.
Initially, the root 'vivisection' meant 'cutting while alive' (an invasive experimental dissection of living animals); with the addition of 'auto-' the meaning narrowed to 'performing that procedure on oneself', and this remains the current sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the act of performing vivisection on oneself; subjecting one's own living body to invasive experimental dissection or surgical examination.
His reported autovivisection shocked the medical community.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/29 17:00