What does cesarian mean?
A cesarian is a surgical method of childbirth in which the baby is delivered through an incision made in the mother's abdominal wall and uterus, rather than vaginally. The word also works as an adjective, as in 'cesarian delivery'. The spelling 'cesarian' is a recognized variant, but the more standard forms are 'Caesarean' in British English and 'Cesarean' in American English — capitalization reflecting the word's legendary link to Julius Caesar. In practice, most people simply say 'C-section', especially in informal conversation, while the fuller term appears in medical records, birth plans, and news reporting on maternity care. Cesarians may be planned in advance, for reasons such as breech presentation or previous abdominal deliveries, or performed as an emergency when labour becomes unsafe. The word carries no inherent stigma, though rates of cesarian birth remain a subject of public-health debate worldwide.
An operation for delivering a child by cutting through the wall of the mother's abdomen and uterus.
"After eighteen hours of labour, the obstetrician recommended an emergency cesarian."
Usually written as a variant of 'caesarean/cesarean section'; often shortened informally to 'C-section'.
Relating to or performed by means of a cesarian delivery.
"Her cesarian scar healed cleanly within weeks."
As a countable noun referring to individual operations or deliveries.
"The unit performs more than two hundred cesarians a year."
The name traces back to Julius Caesar — though the legend that he was born this way is almost certainly false, since his mother lived to hear of his invasion of Britain.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cesarian
The word derives from Latin 'Caesar', the family name of Julius Caesar, via medieval Latin 'caesus' associations with the verb 'caedere' ('to cut'). Legend held that Caesar himself was delivered by abdominal surgery, giving rise to the phrase 'Caesarean section'; historians doubt this story, noting that such operations were nearly always fatal to the mother in antiquity, while Caesar's mother Aurelia survived into his adulthood. The adjective entered English around the seventeenth century in reference to the operation, and cognates of 'Caesar' itself survive in titles like German 'Kaiser' and Russian 'tsar'.
How cesarian is actually used
'Cesarian' is a legitimate but non-standard spelling; most dictionaries list it as a variant. The dominant spellings are 'Caesarean' (chiefly British) and 'Cesarean' (chiefly US), both typically capitalized because of the association with Caesar, though lowercase forms are widely accepted in medical writing. In everyday speech the abbreviation 'C-section' is far more common than any full spelling.
Easily confused with cesarian
'Caesarean' is the standard spelling in British English, while 'cesarian' is a less common variant of the same word with identical meaning.
'Cesarean' is the standard American spelling, whereas 'cesarian' omits the second 'e'.