(noun)
Variations: amputheater, amputheatre
Etymology: from
Latin amputare, from am-, amb- (around) + putare (to cut, prune)
and
from Middle English theatre, from Middle
French, from
Latin theatrum, from
Greek theatron, from theasthai (to view), from
thea (act of seeing)
Date of First Recorded Usage: unknown
1 (a): an outdoor structure for public observation of the surgical excision of any of a various number of bodily extremities in ancient
Greece and Rome (b): any area, location, or edifice for the viewing of a surgery in the nature of removal of corporeal tissue, ie. most commonly in the
case of limb removal
2: a general sphere of enactment of the medical, or otherwise, distachment of living tissue
3 (a): a figurative locale, sphere of influence, or reference point at which an event is described to have had the sufficient level and amount of accidental or intentional violence, malevolence,
angst, etc. to suggest removal of a limb, digit, phallic attachment, etc. (b) any entity containing the potential to cause such great discomfort,
mental or physical anguish, distress, or a number of related conditions, so as to be reminiscent of bodily tissue excision or mutilation (c) any entity actually responsible for or capable of removing or mutilating limbs or otherwise
