polydactylism

C2 Topic:Health & Medicine
US /ˌpɑːliˈdæktəlɪzəm/ UK /ˌpɒliˈdæktɪlɪzəm/
noun Freq #642309

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    the congenital condition of having more than the usual number of fingers or toes

    Darwin discussed polydactylism in humans and other animals as a possible case of reversion.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the congenital condition of... polydactylypolydactyliahyperdactyly
Word family
Derived forms polydactyl
Related forms digitcongenital anomalysyndactylyheredity

Etymology

Formed from polydactyl + -ism. Polydactyl comes through French from Greek polydaktylos, 'many-fingered or many-toed,' from poly-, 'many,' + daktylos, 'finger or toe.' Polydactylism is an older synonym of the now more usual medical term polydactyly.

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