What does cicatrix mean?
A cicatrix is the mark left behind when a wound heals — the scar itself, whether a faint line on the skin or denser fibrous tissue within an organ. The word comes straight from Latin and retains its formal, scientific character: you will encounter it in medical writing, pathology reports, and dermatology texts far more often than in casual conversation, where the simpler word 'scar' prevails. Its standard plural is cicatrices, though cicatrixes also occurs. A related verb, cicatrize, means to heal over with scar tissue, and cicatrization names that process. Because it evokes permanence and the body's record of past injury, writers sometimes reach for it figuratively — a landscape or a life bearing its own cicatrices. Precise, classical, and quietly evocative, it is the word of choice when a writer or clinician wants the scar described with anatomical exactness rather than emotional weight.
nounThe scar left by the healing of a wound or incision on skin or other tissue.
- The permanent mark or fibrous tissue left on skin or tissue after a wound heals.
"A pale cicatrix marked the spot where the surgeon had made his incision."
"A thin white cicatrix ran along her forearm, all that remained of the accident years ago."
"Under the microscope, the pathologist identified dense cicatrix where the lesion had healed."
The Latin plural cicatrices is standard in medical usage; anglicized cicatrixes is acceptable.
"Multiple cicatrices were visible on the patient's skin, evidence of repeated surgeries."
Every scar on your body has a formal Latin name — and doctors have been using 'cicatrix' for centuries because ordinary 'scar' just isn't clinical enough.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cicatrix
Cicatrix was borrowed directly from Latin cicatrix, meaning the scar of a healed wound, entering written English in the early modern period alongside other learned Latinate vocabulary. From the same source come the verb cicatrize and the noun cicatrization, both formed within English on the Latin stem, as well as the variant form cicatrice. The Latin plural cicatrices continues to serve as one of the word's plurals in English.
Related word forms
How cicatrix is actually used
Formal, technical register — used mainly in medicine, pathology, dermatology, and literary description. In everyday speech, plain 'scar' is far more common.
Easily confused with cicatrix
A cicada is a noisy insect, while a cicatrix is a scar left by a healed wound — the two merely share a vaguely similar sound.