the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. Cautery by the application of heat.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. A form of actual cautery in which the heat is produced by blowing benzin-vapor into heated spongy platinum on the inside of the cauterizing platinum-point.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. cautery (destruction of tissue) by heat
Word Usage
"It must be remembered in this connection, on the account of the highly inflammable nature of this substance, that it is not to be followed by the application of the thermocautery."