a technique of feeling for a movable object in the body, esp confirmation of pregnancy by feeling the rebound of the fetus following a quick digital tap on the wall of the uterus
Word origin
C19: from French, literally: a tossing, shaking, from ballotter to toss, from ballotte a little ball, from Italian ballotta; see ballot
ballottement in American English
(bəˈlɑtmənt)
noun
Medicine
a technique for palpating internal organs, tumors, etc., as to check for pregnancy or a floating kidney