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harelip

harelip

2 9.9
A split in the upper lip present at birth, now called cleft lip and often offensive
  • noun
  • /ˈhɛrˌlɪp/
  • Slur
: labio leporino
  • Well, so far the killer's gone after a girl with a harelip, a young lady in a wheelchair, a boy with psoriasis, and another with one testicle.

Examples

  • Victim had a harelip.

  • "Lily couldn't believe she was sitting there listening to him do his imitation of Moses with a harelip."

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Precisely, a harelip, a common birth defect.

  • My mother had never had what you could properly call a harelip, but her lip was wide and gently peaked at the top.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Perhaps the barmaid from Aucoin's, or the girl with the harelip who did the shop's books.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Regina had a thick scar from a harelip, and here he was with his cup of punch, asking Luz how she liked school.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Rhonda's friend Patsy was on duty out at the hospital when that last one was born and she heard Doreen... say to her brother when they brought the baby to her, ''Look, it's got a harelip just like us.''

  • Billy had a harelip, which required surgery to correct.

  • The doctor explained that a harelip is a congenital condition affecting the upper lip.

  • During her presentation, she addressed the medical aspects of having a harelip.

Synonyms

cleft lip
vsharelip
  • Specialized
2 2.7

A split in the upper lip that is there at birth

is an older, offensive label now replaced by a neutral clinical term
cheiloschisis
vsharelip
  • Specialized
9.9

A split in the middle of the upper lip that a baby has from birth

is the common, offensive historical label rather than the clinical name

Surface Forms

harelip singular
harelips plural

Morphology

harelip = hare + lip (semi-transparent) = hare + lip

The compound 'hare' + 'lip' transparently evokes a lip resembling that of a hare, but the specific medical meaning (congenital cleft) and the term's dated/offensive status make it only partly predictable for learners.

Etymology

Harelip comes from people comparing the split in the upper lip to the mouth of a hare, so the name is simply hare + lip. Today this word is seen as offensive and is usually replaced by the medical term 'cleft lip'.