Talk:Gossypiboma

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Etymology of the word / medical term gossypiboma

It was proposed and referred in Wiktionary that the etymology of the word / medical term gossypiboma it comes from the Latin gossypium (“cotton”) and the Swahili boma (“concealment”). Indeed, the first part of the word gossypi- comes from gossypium which means cotton in Latin. But as for the second part of the word, -boma gives no full sense to the whole word’s meaning because firstly boma in Swahili might means concealment or hiding (in some way) but according to a relevant discussion in Wiktionary this is very unlikely. According to the discussion, "concealment" is a very minor connotation of Swahili boma, if at all. It means fortification, or a defensive structure, and thus the house of a chief or administrator, or similar. But in the case of the word gossypiboma there is no meaning. It is known that the etymology of the Medical terminology widely comes from Greek and Latin words (there is not known relation to Swahili language). Furthermore, some medical terms – conditions are described by the combination of Greek and Latin words like the “fibroma” (fibr- from fibre = a thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed / explanation: because of the morphology and appearance of the fibrous cells in the microscope – they appear like fibres) and -oma to give the word (fibroma) a meaning (-oma, from the Greek -ομα, which gives the meaning of swelling or tumour or mass). “Gossypioma” could form a better way than “gossypiboma” but for an unexplained reason "gossypioma" might have been transformed or morphed into "gossypiboma" (the use of the letter “b” in between the parts of the word cannot be explained). A synonym of gossypiboma is gauzeoma and here there is a meaning. The first part of the word gauze- comes from the gauze and the suffix here is -oma (which indicates swelling or tumour or mass) and in this case there is a combination of a Latin and a Greek word giving a full meaning and sense. In the same way another synonym is textiloma (textil- from textile and -oma to indicate swelling or tumour). Additionally, some entries and opinions have been put in the past in Wiktionary because the etymology of the term was doubtful. This is true but no one could make the correct approach. There was also a discrepancy because in Wikipedia there is another explanation of the given etymology (this time towards the right direction). Conclusion: the etymology of the term gossypiboma is related to and comes from Latin and Greek terms and not from Swahili. I would like to thank Wiktionary administration changed the Etymology of the word / medical term "gossypiboma" after an objection I made. Thank you, Athanasios Markonis, MD, PhD