paronychia
paronychia Lexical Profile
paronychia Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A localized bacterial or fungal infection and inflammation of the skin folds and soft tissue surrounding a fingernail or toenail.
"The dermatologist prescribed a topical antibiotic ointment and warm saline soaks to treat the patient's acute paronychia."
Any low-growing, mat-forming herbaceous plant of the genus Paronychia (family Caryophyllaceae), native to temperate and warm regions worldwide and cultivated in rock gardens for its dense clusters of tiny, inconspicuous flowers surrounded by silvery, translucent, papery floral bracts.
• Rhymes for paronychia
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin paronychia, from Ancient Greek parōnykhía ('whitlow, inflammation around the nail'), formed from pará ('beside') and ónyx ('nail, claw'). The botanical genus was given this name because the papery floral bracts and historical folk uses were associated with curing nail infections.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.