cancer
noun
Irish Digest
Did you know?
The Latin word cancer, meaning “crab,” was also given as a name to several diseases. One of the diseases was the abnormal, spreading mass of tissue we call a tumor. A possible explanation for this extended use of cancer is that the Romans thought some tumors looked like many-legged crabs. A French descendant of this Latin word was borrowed into English as canker. It is now applied to several plant and animal disorders. In the 14th century the Latin word cancer in the sense of “tumor” was borrowed directly into English, giving us our modern spelling and sense.
Examples of cancer in a Sentence
Merve Ceylan, Health, 26 Oct. 2025
Gotti, who was eventually convicted, died of cancer in 2002 while serving a life sentence.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Marilu Herrera, 36, created a tapete to honor her late mother, who passed away last month after a battle with breast cancer.
—Alyssa N. Salcedo, jsonline.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Recently that ranged from a man in his 70s who lost his childhood sweetheart to cancer to a woman who was burying her beloved horse.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cancer
Cite this Entry
“Cancer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cancer. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cancer
noun
Middle English Cancer "'Crab' star group," from Latin cancer "crab, cancer (disease)"; sense 3 directly from Latin cancer "crab, cancer" — related to canker, chancre
Medical Definition
cancer
noun
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