/ məˈtæstəsɪs; NAmE / noun
[ U ] ( medical ) the development of tumours in different parts of the body resulting from cancer that has started in another part of the body
► me·tas·ta·tic / ˌmetəˈstætɪk; NAmE / adjective
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (as a rhetorical term, meaning rapid transition from one point to another ): from Greek , literally removal or change , from methistanai to change.