Dictionary

alopecia en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌæl.əʊˈpiː.ʃə/ (UK)
• ăl'-ō-pē"-shə (US)
• ăl'-ō-pē"-sē-ə (US)
• /æloʊˈpiː.ʃ(i)ə/ (US)
• /æloʊˈpiː.si.ə/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alōpecia, from the Ancient Greek ἀλωπεκία (alōpekía, “fox-mange”), from ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx, “fox”) + -ία (-ía, a formative ending used in Ancient Greek, especially used in naming diseases).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Baldness.
2. (countable, uncountable) A deficiency of the hair, which may be caused by a failure to grow or loss after growth.
3. (countable, uncountable) A loss of hair (especially on the head) or loss of wool or feathers, whether natural or caused by disease.
   • “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,” Rock said in an apparent reference to her shaved hair, which is a result of the hair loss condition alopecia. 2022 March 28, Nadia Khomami, “‘Violence instead of words’: Will Smith condemned for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2022:
   • At least 40% of women experience hair loss or alopecia over their lifetimes. This could be alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), traction alopecia (strained hair loss) or another form. The different ways that women’s hair loss has been depicted across art history demonstrates the many different ways it has been interpreted over the years. In 16th and 17th century Britain, for example, women’s alopecia was sometimes interpreted as retribution for sins, including adultery. 2024 March 31, Glen Jankowski, “Alopecia in art history: The many ways women’s hair loss has been interpreted”, in CNN, archived from the original on 12 Oct 2025:

Forms

Deriveds

psychogenic alopecia · alopecia symptomatica · alopecia congenitalis · alopecia universalis · alopecia pityrodes · alopecia liminaris frontalis · alopecia capitis totalis · alopecia adnata · alopecia androgenetica · alopecia totalis · androgenetic alopecia · traction alopecia · androgenic alopecia · antialopecia · alopecic · alopecia areata · alopecia hereditaria · alopecist · traumatic alopecia · alopecia medicamentosa · alopecian

Relateds

hypotrichosis

Translations (27)

pt alopécia (medicine: loss of hair) · ca alopècia (medicine: loss of hair) · pl alopecja (medicine: loss of hair) · ar ثَعْلَبَة (medicine: loss of hair) · el αλωπεκία (medicine: loss of hair) · fi alopekia (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · ru облысе́ние (medicine: loss of hair) · pt alopecia (medicine: loss of hair) · tr alopesi (medicine: loss of hair) · es alopecia (medicine: loss of hair) · pl łysienie (medicine: loss of hair) · fi kaljuuntuminen (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · fr alopécie (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · ca alopècia (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · ru алопе́ция (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · de Haarlosigkeit (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · id alopesia (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · fi alopecia (medicine: loss of hair) · tr saçkıran (medicine: loss of hair) · fi kaljuuntuminen (medicine: loss of hair) · fr alopécie (medicine: loss of hair) · id alopesia (medicine: loss of hair) · es lopigia (medicine: loss of hair) · de Haarausfall (medicine: loss of hair) · hu hajhullás (medicine: loss of hair) · es alopecia (pathology: deficiency of the hair) · ar حَاصَّة (medicine: loss of hair)