homeostasis

• homoeostasis (UK)
• homœostasis (dated)

Coined from Ancient Greek ὅμοιος (hómoios, “similar, the same”) +‎ -stasis by Walter Bradford Cannon, from Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis, “standing, state”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌhɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/, /ˌhəʊmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌhoʊ.mi.oʊˈsteɪ.sɪs/
• Rhymes: -eɪsɪs

homeostasis (countable and uncountable, plural homeostases)

1. (physiology) The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a state of dynamic constancy; such as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a stable temperature.
   • 2002, "Walter Bradford Cannon" in American Journal of Physiology, 92(10):1594-5, DOI 10.2105/AJPH.92.10.1594

     His most important work concentrated on the complexities of chemical neurotransmission (for which Otto Loewi received a Nobel Prize in 1936) and on “homeostasis” (a term coined by Cannon in 1926), the maintenance of steady states in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated.

   • 2011, Professional Guide to Pathophysiology, Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, page 1:

     When homeostasis is disrupted by an external stressor - such as injury, lack of nutrients, or invasion by parasites or other organisms - illness may occur.

2. Such a dynamic equilibrium or balance.

Not to be confused with hemostasis.

• stasis
• proteostasis

• “homeostasis”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Learned borrowing from Latin homoeostasis.

• IPA^(key): /homeoˈstasɪs/
• Rhymes: -sɪs, -ɪs, -s
• Hyphenation: ho‧mé‧o‧sta‧sis

homéostasis (plural homeostasis-homeostasis)

1. (physiology) homeostasis, homoeostasis

• “homeostasis” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

From homeo- +‎ Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis, “stability”).

• IPA^(key): /omeosˈtasis/ [o.me.osˈt̪a.sis]
• Rhymes: -asis
• Syllabification: ho‧me‧os‧ta‧sis

homeostasis f (plural homeostasis)

1. (physiology) homeostasis

• “homeostasis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024