previableadj.
/ˌpriːˈvʌɪəbl/, U.S. /priˈvaɪəb(ə)l/ Medicine.
Not yet viable; occurring or existing before the stage when a fetus has developed sufficiently to survive outside the uterus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > embryo development processes > [adjective]
quickOE
palaeogenetic1882
mosaic1893
protonic1902
previable1910
inductive1931
1910 F. J. Taussig Prevention & Treatm. Abortion 2 Abortion is the pre-viable expulsion of the human ovum.
1936 F. J. Taussig Abortion iv. 81 The previable stage of pregnancy.
1945 Jrnl. Obstetr. & Gynæcol. 52 35/1 The term ‘pre-viable’ has been proposed for the separate category of liveborn premature infants with a birth-weight of less than 2¾ pounds.
1978 Church Times 7 July 12/5 Difficult questions also arise over baptism, when a fully formed but pre-viable foetus is delivered by a legally procured abortion, still living but inevitably destined to die.
2002 Daily Tel. 7 Nov. 15/2 This plaque is dedicated to the memory of children and previable babies who died and from whom organs were wrongly retained.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1910