somatic

[ soh-mat-ik, suh- ]

adjective

1. of the body; bodily; physical.

   Synonyms: corporal

   Antonyms: psychic

2. Anatomy, Zoology. pertaining to the body wall of an animal.
3. Cell Biology. pertaining to or affecting the somatic cells, as distinguished from the germ cells.

somatic

/ səʊˈmætɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the soma

   somatic cells

2. of or relating to an animal body or body wall as distinct from the viscera, limbs, and head
3. of or relating to the human body as distinct from the mind

   a somatic disease

somatic

/ sō-măt′ĭk /

1. Relating to the body.
2. ◆ The cells of the body with the exception of the reproductive cells (gametes) are known as somatic cells.
3. See Note at mitosis

Derived Forms

• soˈmatically, adverb

Other Words From

• so·mati·cal·ly adjective
• unso·matic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of somatic¹

1765–75; < Greek sōmatikós of, pertaining to the body, equivalent to sōmat- somat- + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of somatic¹

C18: from Greek sōmatikos concerning the body, from sōma the body

Example Sentences

Prenatal genome editing sits within the broader spectrum of human genome editing, which ranges from germline, where the changes are heritable, to somatic cell, where the patient’s descendants won’t inherit the changes.

From Salon

In 2012, Curtis began a deep dive -- assisted by machine learning -- into the types of somatic mutations that occur in thousands of breast cancers.

From Science Daily

"With the introduction of contract treatment, criminal behaviour and substance-related adverse health events, such as overdoses and hospitalizations due to psychiatric and somatic reasons, decreased significantly compared to the period before contract treatment," Virtanen says.

From Science Daily

"Circulating erythrocytes outnumber circulating leukocytes by approximately a thousand to one and comprise 84% of all somatic cells in the body," Tishkoff explains.

From Science Daily

“It feels a little too exposed to discuss the ‘alienation I felt from my body,’ but there was a lot of somatic stress there,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times