Cæsarean, Cæsarian, a. and n.
(siːˈzɛərɪən)
[ad. L. Cæsariān-us pertaining to Cæsar; also f. L. Cæsare-us, in same sense + -an.]
A. adj.
1. Of or pertaining to Cæsar or the Cæsars.
| 1659 Howell Lex. Tetragl. To Philol., The Italian may be also calld..the Imperiall Cæsarean language. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. 95 A short Cæsarian conquest overcoming without a blow. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. 402 The Cæsarean ornaments. 1876 Emerson Ess. Ser. ii. iv. 105 Men of the right Cæsarian pattern. |
2. (Also with lower-case initial): spec. (in Obstet. Surg.) Cæsarean birth, operation, section, the delivery of a child by cutting through the walls of the abdomen when delivery cannot take place in the natural way, as was done in the case of Julius Cæsar. Also fig.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 344 Concerning this Cæsarian section. 1661 Hickeringill Jamaica 40 Neither heat nor cold can baracade the..womb of the earth from the Cæsarean Section..of the greedy Miners. 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Sometimes also denominated the Cæsarian birth..as were [born] C. Julius Cæsar, Scipio Africanus, Manlius, and our Edward VI. 1818 Cruise Digest I. 163 If the wife dies in childbed, and the issue is taken out of the womb by the Cæsarean operation, the husband will not be entitled to curtesy. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. IV. ii. v. 71 The Principality of Orange..clearly Prussia's; but it lies embedded deep in the belly of France: that will be a Cæsarean operation for you! |
B. n.
1. An adherent of Cæsar, of the Emperor (against the Pope), or of an imperial system.
| 1528 Let. in Brewer Reign Hen. VIII, II. 323 The Archbishop of Capua and others of the Cæsarians. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (1878) 182 If any such thing should by the Cæsarients..be attempted. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 282 The eagernesse of the Cæsarians. 1869 Seeley Ess. & Lect. i. 2 Then the Cæsarians become..enlightened Liberals. |
2. (Also with lower-case initial.) A Cæsarean section. colloq.
| 1923 S. P. Warren in Amer. Jrnl. Obstetr. & Gynecol. VI. 338 (heading) What I have learned from my one hundred and six cesareans. 1948 Parent's Mag. Apr. 93/1 Hospitals generally let mothers recovering from a Caesarean remain longer than the ordinary five-day limit. 1971 H. & M. Brant Dict. Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Contraception 46 It usually takes two to three months before you feel really well after a caesarean. 1985 Washington Post 13 Jan. k2/4 The AMA reports that a Caesarean commands an additional {pstlg}250 over a vaginal delivery. |