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bunion

[buhn-yuh n]
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noun Podiatry.

inflammation of the synovial bursa of the great toe, usually resulting in enlargement of the joint and lateral displacement of the toe.

RELATED WORDS

blister, abscess, bump, bruise, tumor, sore, welt, inflammation, injury, contusion, nodule, knob, wale, dilation, ridge, hump, increase, pock, wart, protuberance

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for bunion

Historical Examples of bunion

  • In the general relaxation Dolly Beatty slipped off her tightest shoe, one bunion and four corns clamoring loudly for room.

    Green Valley

    Katharine Reynolds

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

    The Plow-Woman

    Eleanor Gates

  • 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

  • A bursa may form beneath a corn, and if inflamed constitutes one form of bunion.

    Manual of Surgery

    Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

  • When a bunion is forming it may be stopped by poulticing and carefully opening it with a lancet.

British Dictionary definitions for bunion

bunion

noun

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

Word Origin for bunion

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).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for bunion

bunion

[bŭn′yən]

n.

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