Originally: cancer as a disease or disease process (now rare ). In later use: = carcinomatosis.
Origin
Mid 19th century. Probably partly from scientific Latin carcinosis (1859 or earlier; from Byzantine Greek καρκίνωσις formation of a cancerous growth from ancient Greek καρκινοῦν (passive) to suffer from cancer, to become cancerous + -ωσις), and partly from carcin- + -osis, after French carcinose, German Karzinose.