acromegalyn.
/ˌakrə(ʊ)ˈmɛɡəli/, /ˌakrə(ʊ)ˈmɛɡl̩i/, U.S. /ˌækroʊˈmɛɡəli/ Medicine.
A disorder characterized by overgrowth of bone and soft tissues, most noticeably in the hands, feet, and face, caused by over-secretion of growth hormone (most commonly by a pituitary tumour), and also affecting many other systems of the body. Also figurative.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > [noun] > disorders of extremities
acromegaly1886
thromboangiitis obliterans1908
Buerger's disease1914
1886 Lancet 29 May 1030/2 (heading) Acromegaly.
1893 Med. Rec. 12 Aug. 218/2 Gigantism is a form of physiological excess, while acromegaly is a distinct morbid condition.
1937 W. Inge Modernism in Lit. 3 A modernist sculptor will carve figures apparently suffering from elephantiasis or acromegaly.
1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) ii. 27 The patient has bulldog jaw and heavy features, suggesting acromegaly.
1990 Ironman Oct. 90/2 Many people who are naturally afflicted with acromegaly (due to hyperactive pituitaries) develop arthritis and diabetes and have very short life spans.
2001 Independent 23 July ii. 14/7 Many bemoan the backbreaking Sunday edition of The New York Times but Bernard Levin's medical metaphor was to calculate its weight and size as an ‘experiment in acromegaly’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1886- to give mettle to
- to give mischance
- to give mouth
- to give mouth to
- to give name to
- to give no charge of
- to give no force of
- to give no road
- to give nonplus to
- to give note of
- to give notice
- to give nought of
- to give occasion to
- to give odds
- to give of
- to give of one's best
- to give of oneself
- to give off
- to give offal to a bear
- to give offence to
- to give on
- to give one
- to give one a back-cap
- to give one a backcap
- to give one a chill