alopecia

See also: alopécia

English

Alternative forms

• alopecy (dated)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alōpecia, from the Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía, “fox-mange”), from ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx, “fox”) +‎ -ία (-ía, a formative ending used in Ancient Greek, especially used in naming diseases).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌæl.əʊˈpiː.ʃə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: ăl'-ō-pē"-shə, ăl'-ō-pē"-sē-ə, IPA^(key): /æloʊˈpiː.ʃ(i)ə/, /æloʊˈpiː.si.ə/
• Rhymes: -iːʃə

Noun

alopecia (countable and uncountable, plural alopecias)

1. Baldness.
2. (pathology) A deficiency of the hair, which may be caused by a failure to grow or loss after growth.
3. (medicine) A loss of hair (especially on the head) or loss of wool or feathers, whether natural or caused by disease.
   • 2022 March 28, Nadia Khomami, “‘Violence instead of words’: Will Smith condemned for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars”, in The Guardian‎^[1], archived from the original on 20 April 2022:

     “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,” Rock said in an apparent reference to her shaved hair, which is a result of the hair loss condition alopecia.

   • 2024 March 31, Glen Jankowski, “Alopecia in art history: The many ways women’s hair loss has been interpreted”, in CNN‎^[2], archived from the original on 12 October 2025:

     At least 40% of women experience hair loss or alopecia over their lifetimes. This could be alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), traction alopecia (strained hair loss) or another form. The different ways that women’s hair loss has been depicted across art history demonstrates the many different ways it has been interpreted over the years.
     In 16th and 17th century Britain, for example, women’s alopecia was sometimes interpreted as retribution for sins, including adultery.

Derived terms

• alopecia adnata
• alopecia androgenetica
• alopecia areata
• alopecia capitis totalis
• alopecia congenitalis
• alopecia hereditaria
• alopecia liminaris frontalis
• alopecia medicamentosa
• alopecian
• alopecia pityrodes
• alopecia symptomatica
• alopecia totalis
• alopecia universalis
• alopecic
• alopecist
• androgenetic alopecia
• androgenic alopecia
• antialopecia
• psychogenic alopecia
• traction alopecia
• traumatic alopecia

Translations

baldness — see baldness

pathology: deficiency of the hair

• Catalan: alopècia f
• Finnish: kaljuuntuminen (fi), alopekia
• French: alopécie (fr) f
• German: Haarlosigkeit (de) f
• Indonesian: alopesia (id)
• Russian: алопе́ция (ru) f (alopécija)
• Spanish: alopecia (es) f

medicine: loss of hair

• Arabic: ثَعْلَبَة (ar) f (ṯaʕlaba), حَاصَّة f (ḥāṣṣa)
• Catalan: alopècia f
• Finnish: kaljuuntuminen (fi), alopecia (fi)
• French: alopécie (fr) f
• German: Haarausfall (de) m
• Greek: αλωπεκία (el) f (alopekía)
• Hungarian: hajhullás (hu)
• Indonesian: alopesia (id)
• Polish: łysienie (pl) n, alopecja (pl) f
• Portuguese: alopecia (pt) f, alopécia f
• Russian: облысе́ние (ru) n (oblysénije)
• Spanish: alopecia (es) f
• Turkish: alopesi (tr), saçkıran (tr)

See also

• hypotrichosis

Further reading

• alopecia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Italian

Etymology

From Latin alopecia, from Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.lo.peˈt͡ʃi.a/, /a.loˈpɛ.t͡ʃa/
• Rhymes: -ia, -ɛtʃa
• Hyphenation: a‧lo‧pe‧cì‧a, a‧lo‧pè‧cia

Noun

alopecia f (plural alopecie)

1. (pathology) alopecia

   Synonym: calvizie

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx)

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂

Proto-Hellenic *-íā

Ancient Greek -ίᾱ (-íā)

Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía)bor.

Latin alōpecia

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [a.ɫoːˈpɛ.ki.a]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [a.loˈpɛː.t͡ʃi.a]

Noun

alōpecia f (genitive alōpeciae); first declension

1. (New Latin) alopecia

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	alōpecia	alōpeciae
genitive	alōpeciae	alōpeciārum
dative	alōpeciae	alōpeciīs
accusative	alōpeciam	alōpeciās
ablative	alōpeciā	alōpeciīs
vocative	alōpecia	alōpeciae

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• alopécia

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alopecia, from Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.lo.peˈsi.ɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.lo.peˈsi.ɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.lo.peˈsi.a/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.lu.pɨˈsi.ɐ/

• Hyphenation: a‧lo‧pe‧ci‧a

Noun

alopecia f (plural alopecias)

1. (pathology) alopecia (loss of hair)

   Synonym: queda

Further reading

• “alopecia”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “alopecia”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alopecia, from Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aloˈpeθja/ [a.loˈpe.θja] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /aloˈpesja/ [a.loˈpe.sja] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -eθja (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• Rhymes: -esja (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: a‧lo‧pe‧cia

Noun

alopecia f (plural alopecias)

1. alopecia

Derived terms

• alopécico

Further reading

• “alopecia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025