the practice, as in some areas of North Africa, of sewing up most of the opening to the vagina, esp. of unmarried girls, to prevent sexual intercourse
infibulation in American English
(inˌfɪbjəˈleiʃən)
noun
1.
the stitching together of the vulva, often after a clitoridectomy, leaving a small opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood
2.
the similar stitching of the prepuce
Word origin
[1640–50; (‹ F) ‹ L infībulāt(us), ptp. of infībulāre to fasten the prepuce with a clasp (in-in-2 + fībulāre to fasten, v. deriv. of fībulafibula) + -ion--ion]This word is first recorded in the period 1640–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: datum, electric, handicap, impulse, liaison-ion is a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition, usedin Latin and in English to form nouns from stems of Latin adjectives (communion; union), verbs (legion; opinion), and esp. past participles (allusion; creation; fusion; notion; torsion)
Examples of 'infibulation' in a sentence
infibulation
All had undergone infibulation but did not wish the same for their daughters.
Sarah Fried, Amina Mahmoud Warsame, Vanja Berggren, Elisabeth Isman, Annika Johansson 2013, 'Outpatients' Perspectives on Problems and Needs Related to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting:A Qualitative Study from Somaliland', Obstetrics and Gynecology Internationalhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/165893. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)