| periostitis | <medicine> Inflammation of the periosteum. Origin: NL. See Periosteum, and -itis. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| precocious | 1. Ripe or mature before the proper or natural time; early or prematurely ripe or developed; as, precocious trees. 2. Developed more than is natural or usual at a given age; exceeding what is to be expected of one's years; too forward; used especially of mental forwardness; as, a precocious child; precocious talents. Origin: L. Praecox, -ocis, and praecoquus, fr. Praecoquere to cook or ripen beforehand; prae = before + coquere to cook. See Cook, and cf. Apricot. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| precocious puberty | Condition in which pubertal changes begin at an unexpectedly early age; often the result of a pathological process involving a gland capable of secreting oestrogens or androgens, e.g., the ovary or the adrenal cortex. Synonym: pubertas praecox. (05 Mar 2000) |
| puberty, precocious | Unusually early sexual maturity. (12 Dec 1998) |