hypertrophy

English

WOTD – 4 March 2006

Hypertrophy results from an increase in cell size, whereas hyperplasia stems from an increase in cell number

Etymology

From French hypertrophie, from Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, excessive”) + τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /haɪˈpɜːtɹəfi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /haɪˈpɝːtɹəfi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hypertrophy (countable and uncountable, plural hypertrophies)

1. (countable, medicine) An increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its individual cells.
2. (uncountable, bodybuilding) Increase in muscle size through increased size of individual muscle cells; a result of weightlifting, and other exercise. It differs from muscle hyperplasia, which is the formation of new muscle cells.

Antonyms

• atrophy
• hypotrophy

Coordinate terms

• hyperplasia

Derived terms

• eccentric hypertrophy
• hypertrophic
• hypertrophical
• hypertrophically
• hypertrophous

 

Translations

an increase in the size of an organ due to swelling of the individual cells

• Catalan: hipertròfia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 肥大 (zh) (féidà)

• Dutch: hypertrofie (nl)
• Finnish: hypertrofia (fi)
• French: hypertrophie (fr) f
• German: Hypertrophie (de) f
• Greek: υπερτροφία (el) f (ypertrofía)
• Irish: hipeartrófacht f
• Italian: ipertrofia (it)
• Japanese: 肥大 (ja) (ひだい, hidai)
• Korean: 비대 (ko) (bidae)
• Macedonian: хипертрофија f (hipertrofija)
• Polish: hipertrofia (pl) f, przerost (pl) m
• Portuguese: hipertrofia (pt) f
• Romanian: hipertrofie (ro) f
• Russian: гипертрофи́я (ru) f (gipertrofíja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хипертро̀фија f

  Roman: hipertròfija (sh)

• Spanish: hipertrofia (es) f
• Swedish: hypertrofi (sv) c
• Vietnamese: sự nở to

Verb

hypertrophy (third-person singular simple present hypertrophies, present participle hypertrophying, simple past and past participle hypertrophied)

1. (intransitive, of a tissue or organ) To increase in size.

   Antonym: atrophy

2. (by extension) To enlarge or extend.
   • 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 76:

     Like a well-exercised muscle, 'network' has hypertrophied into a master concept.

Translations

to increase in size

• Catalan: hipertrofiar (ca)
• French: s’hypertrophier (fr)
• German: hypertrophieren
• Greek: υπερτροφώ (ypertrofó), αυξάνω (el) (afxáno)
• Japanese: 肥大する (ja) (ひだいする, hidai suru)
• Portuguese: hipertrofiar (pt)
• Romanian: hipertrofia (ro)
• Spanish: hipertrofiarse (es)