''emphysema'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260915190735-00-⌔

emphysema - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

emphysema (countable and uncountable, plural emphysemas or emphysemata)

• (pathology) An abnormal accumulation of air or other gas in tissues, most commonly the lungs.
  • ✤ Synonym: pneumatosis
• (medicine) Ellipsis of pulmonary emphysema, a chronic lung disease, one type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  • ✤ The panacinar emphysema shows higher compliance with lungs then the centriacinar emphysema 5.¹
  • ✤ His family announced the death on social media on Thursday, but provided no details. In 2024, Mr. Lynch announced that he had developed emphysema after years of smoking, and that as a result any subsequent films would have to be directed remotely.²

Etymology

Multiple origins. Partially from post-Classical Latin emphȳsēma (“swelling”), from Ancient Greek ἐμφῡ́σημα (emphū́sēma), from ἐμφῡσάω (emphūsáō, “to puff up”). Also borrowed from Middle French emphysema, from the same Latin source; compare French emphysème. Attested from the late 16th century.³

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˌɛmfɪˈsiːmə/
• (General American) IPA: /ˌɛmfɪˈsimə/, /ˌɛmfɪˈzimə/, /ˌɛmfə-/
• Audio (US): 🔊
• Rhymes: -iːmə

Printed 2026-09-15.

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Footnotes

1. 2015 June 5, Geeta Shroff, “Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the treatment of emphysematous COPD: a case report”, in Clinical Case Reports ‎${}^{[1]}$, volume 3, →DOI: ↩

2. 2025 January 16, J. Hoberman, “David Lynch Dead: ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ Director Was 78”, in The New York Times ‎${}^{[2]}$, →ISSN: ↩

3. “emphysema, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2014. ↩