Standard Lemma guide

petechia

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /pɪˈtiːkɪə/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a minute red or purple spot on the surface of the skin as the result of tiny hemorrhages of blood vessels in the skin (as in typhoid fever)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bruise, contusion

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin petechia, from Italian petecchie (“skin eruptions”, plural), probably from a popular Latin diminutive of petigo (“scab, eruption”) (from impetīgo).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: petèquia — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Finnish: petekkia — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • French: pétéchie — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Galician: petequia — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • German: Petechien — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Portuguese: petéquia — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Russian: петехия (petexija) — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Russian: точечное кровоизлияние — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Spanish: petequia — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Turkish: peteşi — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin
  • Ukrainian: пете́хія (petéxija) — a small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin