prosthetic

UK/ˌpɹɒsˈθɛtɪk/US/ˌpɹɑsˈθɛtɪk/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,696 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: prosthetics

A prosthetic is an artificial replacement for a missing body part. A prosthetic leg, fit a prosthetic, prosthetic limbs.

Modern ones are shaped to the individual and some read the electrical signals of the remaining muscle, so a hand can be told to close. Fit and comfort at the socket decide whether somebody actually wears one, far more than the clever end does.

Definitions of prosthetic

1nounprostheticAn artificial replacement for a missing body part.B2+
“After losing her leg in the accident, she learned to walk again with a prosthetic.”

prosthetic is a replacement.

Also accepted in games: prosthesis

Where it comes from

Greek prosthesis means an addition, from prostithenai, to put to — pros, to, plus tithenai, to place.

Ancient Greek
προσθετικός — adding; repletive; giving additional power
New Latin
prostheticus
English, today
prosthetic

Built from

πρόσθεσις · Ancient Greek — addition
προστίθημι · Ancient Greek — I add
πρός · Ancient Greek — towards
τίθημι · Ancient Greek — I place

From New Latin prostheticus, from Ancient Greek προσθετικός (“adding; repletive; giving additional power”), from πρόσθεσις (“addition”), from προστίθημι (“I add”), from πρός (“towards”) + τίθημι (“I place”). by surface analysis, prosth- + -etic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Disability & Access

Practise this word

prosthetic in the wild

Loosely bound metal ions and coenzymes are still cofactors, but are generally not called prosthetic groups.
Prosthetic group
In enzymes, prosthetic groups are typically involved in the catalytic mechanism and are required for enzymatic activity; however, other prosthetic groups have structural properties.
Prosthetic group
The final prosthetic can be either fixed, where a person cannot remove the denture or teeth from their mouth, or removable, where they can remove the prosthetic.
Dental implant
Where the prosthetic is fixed, the crown, bridge or denture is fixed to the abutment either with lag screws or with dental cement.
Dental implant
Before 2002, the category was called Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special and included prosthetic and special effects makeup.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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