amputar
to amputate
verb ahm-poo-TAHR Rare
Origin: From Latin amputare, 'to cut around, to prune'.
Usage Note
Amputar is the standard medical and surgical term for removing a limb or body part. It is used both in clinical contexts and figuratively for cutting something radically short (amputaron la escena del filme, they cut the scene from the film). The noun is amputación; the person who has undergone it is an amputado. There is no informal synonym — the word is used directly across all registers when the literal meaning is intended.
Examples
"Los médicos tuvieron que amputarle la pierna."
Natural Translation
The doctors had to amputate his leg.
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