metastasis
UK[məˈtæstəsɪs]US[məˈtæstəsɪs]
n
The development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of cancer.
n
A change of position, state, or form.
Morpheme Breakdown
meta
stasis
meta
change
stasis
standing
Etymology
The term 'metastasis' is a direct borrowing from Late Latin, which itself adopted it from Greek 'μετάστασις' (metástasis), meaning "a removal, a change." This Greek word is a compound of the prefix 'meta-', implying change or transference, and 'stasis', meaning a standing or state. In ancient medical contexts, particularly in the writings of Galen, it described the shifting of disease from one part of the body to another. The modern, specific medical meaning—the spread of cancer cells from their original site to form new tumors—developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, perfectly capturing the concept of a disease changing its position and establishing a new, dangerous state elsewhere in the body.
Analysis
Structure: meta (change) + stasis (standing)
'meta' is a Greek prepositional prefix meaning "after, beyond, change." 'stasis' is from Greek, meaning "a standing, posture, position."
Examples
The patient's prognosis worsened following the discovery of metastasis to the liver.
The primary tumor was small, but its rapid metastasis made treatment extremely difficult.
In a broader philosophical sense, the concept describes the metastasis of an idea from one culture to another.