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de·bride·ment

(dā′brēd-mäɴ, dĭ-brēdmənt)

Surgical excision of dead, devitalized, or contaminated tissue and removal of foreign matter from a wound.

[French débridement, from débrider, to unbridle, debride (from the likening of constricting bands of tissue to bridles), from Old French desbrider : des-, de- + bride, bridle (probably from Middle High German brīdel, rein).]

de·bride v.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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