Skip to content

dilatation

dilation, expansion

noun dee-lah-tah-SYOHN Rare

Origin: From Latin 'dilatatio', a widening.

Usage Note

Dilatation is used in both medical contexts (pupil dilation, cervical dilation in childbirth) and physics (thermal expansion of materials). In everyday medical French, a doctor might speak of la dilatation de la pupille when examining eyes. The verb form is dilater, and the reflexive se dilater means 'to expand' or 'to dilate'.

Examples

"La dilatation du col est complète."

Natural Translation

The dilation of the cervix is complete.

Explore French by topic