lactation

[lak-tey-shuh n] /lækˈteɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
the secretion or formation of milk.
2.
the period of milk production.
Origin
1660-70; < Late Latin lactātiōn- (stem of lactātiō) a giving suck. See lactate1, -ion
Related forms
lactational, adjective
lactationally, adverb
hyperlactation, noun
overlactation, noun
superlactation, noun
Examples from the web for lactation
  • It may be that females need to control the limited supply to meet the nutritional demands of pregnancy and lactation.
  • They supply the mamma, and increase considerably in size during the period of lactation.
  • Use of psychiatric medications during pregnancy and lactation.
  • Among traditional hunter-gatherers the average family size was small due to prolonged lactation and frequent infanticide.
  • The criticism came swiftly: lactation consultants warned that she would never be able to express enough milk.
British Dictionary definitions for lactation

lactation

/lækˈteɪʃən/
noun
1.
the secretion of milk from the mammary glands after parturition
2.
the period during which milk is secreted
Derived Forms
lactational, adjective
lactationally, adverb
Word Origin and History for lactation
n.

1660s, "process of suckling an infant," from French lactation, from Late Latin lactationem (nominative lactatio) "a suckling," noun of action from past participle stem of lactare "suckle," from lac (genitive lactis) "milk," from PIE root *glakt- (cf. Greek gala, genitive galaktos, "milk"), which, along with *melg-, accounts for words for "milk" in most Indo-European languages (the absence of a common word for it is considered a mystery). Meaning "process of secreting milk from the breasts" first recorded 1857. Middle Irish lacht, Welsh llaeth "milk" are loan words from Latin.

lactation in Medicine

lactation lac·ta·tion (lāk-tā'shən)
n.

  1. The secretion or formation of milk by the mammary glands.

  2. The period during which the mammary glands secrete milk.

lac·ta'tion·al adj.
lactation in Science
lactation
  (lāk-tā'shən)   
The secretion or production of milk by the mammary glands in female mammals after giving birth.