tumor-positive
|tu-mor-pos-i-tive|
🇺🇸
/ˈtuːmɚ-ˈpɑzətɪv/
🇬🇧
/ˈtjuːmə-ˈpɒzɪtɪv/
test shows tumor present
Etymology
'tumor-positive' originates from Modern English, a compound combining the noun 'tumor' (from Latin 'tumor', where 'tumēre' meant 'to swell') and the adjective 'positive' (from Latin 'positivus', via Old French 'positif', where the root 'ponere' meant 'to place').
'tumor' entered English from Latin 'tumor' (via Medieval/Scientific Latin); 'positive' came into English via Old French 'positif' from Latin 'positivus'. The hyphenated compound 'tumor-positive' is a relatively modern medical formation (20th century usage) combining these elements to describe test results.
Originally 'tumor' meant 'a swelling' and 'positive' originally had senses related to 'placed' or 'certain'; in modern medical usage 'positive' came to mean 'indicating presence' on a test, so 'tumor-positive' now means 'a test indicates the presence of a tumor'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
indicating that a test, biopsy, or sample shows the presence of a tumor or tumor cells (i.e., the test result is positive for tumor).
The lymph node biopsy was tumor-positive, suggesting metastatic disease.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/15 07:40