The process of becoming like ivory or transforming into an ivory-like substance; specifically in medicine, the process of eburnation in bone disease.
From Latin ebur (ivory) + -ficatio (Latin suffix meaning 'the act of making'). The -ficatio suffix comes from facere (to make). This medical term was formalized in 19th-century medical Latin nomenclature.
Doctors loved making long Latin words—'eburnification' is just a fancy way to say 'the bone is turning shiny' but it sounds important enough to explain why your joints hurt!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.