CIRCUMCISION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Circumcision mean? 

• CIRCUMCISION (noun)
  The noun CIRCUMCISION has 3 senses:

1. (Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Church) feast day celebrating the circumcision of Jesus; celebrated on January 1st

2. the act of circumcising performed on males eight days after birth as a Jewish and Muslim religious rite

3. the act of circumcising; surgical removal of the foreskin of males

  Familiarity information: CIRCUMCISION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CIRCUMCISION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Church) feast day celebrating the circumcision of Jesus; celebrated on January 1st

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

Circumcision; Feast of the Circumcision; January 1

Hypernyms ("Circumcision" is a kind of...):

feast day; fete day (a day designated for feasting)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

Anglican Church; Anglican Communion; Church of England (the national church of England (and all other churches in other countries that share its beliefs); has its see in Canterbury and the sovereign as its temporal head)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of circumcising performed on males eight days after birth as a Jewish and Muslim religious rite

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("circumcision" is a kind of...):

religious rite; rite (an established ceremony prescribed by a religion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "circumcision"):

Berit; Berith; Bris; Briss; Brith (the Jewish rite of circumcision performed on a male child on the eighth day of his life)

Derivation:

circumcise (cut the foreskin off male babies or teenage boys)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of circumcising; surgical removal of the foreskin of males

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("circumcision" is a kind of...):

abscission; cutting off (the act of cutting something off)

Derivation:

circumcise (cut the foreskin off male babies or teenage boys)

 Context examples 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found that the medical benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks.

(Circumcision, NIH)

There are medical benefits and risks to circumcision.

(Circumcision, NIH)