cyst

The definition of a cyst is a closed sac or hollow cavity filled with liquid that develops unnaturally in people, animals or plants.

(noun)

When a hollow fluid-filled cavity appears in the tissue of your body where it does not belong, this is an example of a cyst.

See cyst in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

any of certain saclike structures in plants or animals
such a structure or pocket in the body when abnormal and filled with fluid or diseased matter
a spherical, usually thick membrane, resistant to freezing, drying, etc., with which certain organisms are surrounded when in a resting stage

Origin: ModL cystis < Gr kystis, sac, bladder < ? IE base *us-, var. of *wes-, to wheeze, blow

cysto-: used before a vowel

sac, pouch, bladder: blastocyst

Origin: < Gr kystis: see cyst

See cyst in American Heritage Dictionary 4

cyst

noun

Pathology An abnormal membranous sac containing a gaseous, liquid, or semisolid substance.
Anatomy A sac or vesicle in the body.
Biology A small capsulelike sac that encloses certain organisms in their dormant or larval stage.
Botany A thick-walled resting spore, as in certain algae or fungi.

Origin: New Latin cystis, from Greek kustis, bladder; see kwes- in Indo-European roots.

cyst-

prefix

Variant of cysto-.

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