English Reference
Noun

prosthesis

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˌpɹɔsˈθɛsɪs/ UK /pɹˈɒsθəsˌɪs/ pros·the·sis Linguistics Medicine

n.an artificial body part that replaces a missing one, like a leg or an arm. It can also mean a fake tooth or a device that helps you see or hear better.

n.an artificial replacement for a missing body part, such as a limb, tooth, or eye. In a linguistic context, it refers to the addition of a sound or syllable to the beginning of a word to make it easier to pronounce.

The soldier who buried his own amputated arm and invented a custom prosthesis spent decades fiercely fighting for the pension and independence he believed he had earned.

ScienceDaily· 7 Sept 2026

Via Latin, from Ancient Greek πρόσθεσις (prósthesis, “addition”), from προστίθημι (prostíthēmi, “I add”), from πρός (prós, “towards”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “I place”), from Proto-Indo-European próti, préti + *dʰédʰeh₁ti (“to be putting, to be placing”). By surface analysis, prosth- + -esis.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin ine-pro *próti
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated