abscess Hear it!

abscess definition

ab·scess (ab′ses′)

noun

a swollen, inflamed area in body tissues, in which pus gathers

Etymology: L abscessus < abscedere, to go from < ab(s)-, from + cedere, to go: from the notion that humors go from the body into the swelling

intransitive verb

to form an abscess

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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