bdellatomy

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English

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Etymology

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Irregularly formed as Ancient Greek βδέλλᾰ (bdélla, leech) + -tomy (from -τοµία (-toµía, a cutting); from τέμνω (témnō, I cut); the etymological spelling is bdellotomy.

Noun

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bdellatomy (uncountable)

  1. (archaic) The snipping off the tail of a leech engaged in sucking human blood, in order to let the blood run out of it and so increase its powers of drawing blood.