Epidural Meaning
/ɛp.ɪˈdjʊə.ɹəl/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjSituated on or outside the dura mater.
adjOf or pertaining to the space immediately outside the dura mater.
Sentence Examples
She gave birth with an epidural.
CEFR Practice Quiz
During labor, she received an ____ to manage the pain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient requested an ____ to manage the pain during childbirth.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi Proto-Hellenic *epí Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) Ancient Greek ἐπῐ- (epĭ-)der. English epi- English dura Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English dural English epidural From epi- + dural.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For reasons I shan’t bore you with, I got them to induce me at 39 weeks, at 10am, with the epidural going in first, and it was all a dream. Until the baby went back to back and they very nicely pointed out that the epidural doesn’t deal with that pain."
— 2014 December 5, Marina Hyde, “Childbirth is as awful as it is magical, thanks to our postnatal ‘care’”, in The Guardian:
"During my third birth, the epidural provided a welcome numbing sensation on one side of my abdomen, but I still had sharp, intense pain on the other. […] I’ve talked to dozens of mom friends over the years. Most say their epidural was like a magic wand that eliminated their pain in minutes. Some recalled napping or watching a movie through most of labor."
— 2025 November 25, Jillian Pretzel, “I got an epidural for all three of my births – none of them worked as expected”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During labor, she received an ____ to manage the pain.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient requested an ____ to manage the pain during childbirth.