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bunion

[buhn-yuh n]
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noun Podiatry.
  1. inflammation of the synovial bursa of the great toe, usually resulting in enlargement of the joint and lateral displacement of the toe.
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Origin of bunion

1710–20; perhaps alteration of bunny (obsolete) lump, swelling, late Middle English bony, probably alteration of Old French buigne, buyne (French beigne) swelling, of Germanic orig.; cf. beignet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bunion

Historical Examples

  • Owing, I fancy, to a bunion, she was so leisurely a walker that it was I who must set my pace to hers.

    Memoirs of a Midget

    Walter de la Mare

  • Here you are, gents, the most wonderful corn and bunion salve in the market!

    Young Auctioneers

    Edward Stratemeyer

  • And, stepping forward in the boat, he kicked Michael on a bunion.

    The Plow-Woman

    Eleanor Gates

  • I flatter myself we could fit the biggest beetle-crusher ever bunion'd into the shape of a giant potato or a Californian nugget.

  • Bunion, bun′yun, n. a lump or inflamed swelling on the ball of the great toe.

British Dictionary definitions for bunion

bunion

noun
  1. swelling of the first joint of the big toe, which is displaced to one side. An inflamed bursa forms over the joint
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Word Origin

C18: perhaps from obsolete bunny a swelling, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bunion

n.

1718, apparently from East Anglian dialectic bunny "lump, swelling" (16c.), which is probably from Middle French buigne "bump on the head, swelling from a blow" (see bun).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bunion in Medicine

bunion

(bŭn′yən)
n.
  1. A localized swelling at either the medial or dorsal aspect of the first joint of the big toe, caused by an inflamed bursa.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.