necropsy
nec·rop·sy/ˈnɛkɹɑpsi/noun, verb
necropsy is a noun meaning “The pathological examination of a corpse, particularly to determine cause of death” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled N-E-C-R-O-P-S-Y and has 3 syllables (nec·rop·sy), and it appears about once in every 9 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of necropsy is necropsies.
What does necropsy mean?
noun
- 1
The pathological examination of a corpse, particularly to determine cause of death.
verb
- 1
To perform a necropsy on.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce necropsy?
- UK /ˈnɛkɹɒpsi/
- UK /nɪˈkɹɒpsi/
- US /ˈnɛkɹɑpsi/
Necropsy has 3 syllables, split nec·rop·sy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-necropsy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of necropsy
- necropsies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- necropsying participle, present
- necropsied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is necropsy?
Necropsy appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Necropsy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nécropsie |
| German | Nekropsie |
| Portuguese | necropsia , necropsiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does necropsy come from?
From necro- + -opsy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).