oxytocic

adjective

oxy·​to·​cic ˌäk-si-ˈtō-sik 

: hastening childbirth

also : inducing contraction of uterine smooth muscle

oxytocic noun

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French oxytocique, from Greek oxy-, stem of oxýs "sharp, keen, quick, swift" + tókos "childbirth" + French -ique -ic entry 1 — more at oxygen, dystocia

Note: The French adjective is patterned on New Latin oxytocium "drug promoting a quick birth," an alteration—either deliberate or accidental—of ōcytocium in the same sense, borrowed from ancient Greek ōkytókion, nominalized from neuter of the adjective ōkytókios "promoting a quick birth" (with the noun phármakon "drug" understood). In Greek compounds ōkýs is more frequent in the meaning "quick, swift."

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

oxytocic

1 of 2 adjective

oxy·​to·​cic ˌäk-si-ˈtō-sik 

: hastening childbirth

also : inducing contraction of uterine smooth muscle

oxytocic

2 of 2 noun

: a substance that stimulates contraction of uterine smooth muscle or hastens childbirth