From Latin circumcīsiō, from circumcīdō (“cut around”), from circum (“about, around; through”) + caedō (“cut, hew”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɜː(ɹ)kəmˈsɪʒən/
• Rhymes: -ɪʒən

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

circumcision (countable and uncountable, plural circumcisions)

2. The surgical excision of the foreskin and usually all or most of the penile frenulum.
   • 1697, Benjamin Keach, A Counter-Antidote to Purge Out the Effects of a Late Counterfeit‎^[2], page 7:

     So ſay I , did the Covenant of circumciſion, in that he that was circumciſed was bound to keep the whole Law Gal 5. 3.

   1. (modern Judaism, usually specifically) Pharisaic circumcision.
   2. (chiefly historical or Philippines) Other surgeries involving the incision or partial excision of the foreskin or penile frenulum without total posthetomy.

      The ancient Egyptians practiced circumcision by creating a dorsal incision in the foreskin.

3. The surgical excision of the clitoral hood of the clitoris; female circumcision.
4. (often proscribed) The surgical excision of the clitoris; clitoridectomy.

(disputedly, in the male case) ^[1]

• circumcision on Wikipedia.Wikipedia