empyema

[ em-pee-ee-muh, -pahy- ]
/ ˌɛm piˈi mə, -paɪ- /

noun Pathology.

a collection of pus in a body cavity, especially the pleural cavity.

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Also called pyothorax.

Origin of empyema

1605–15; < Late Latin < Greek empýēma abscess, equivalent to em- em-2 + pyē- (variant stem of pyeîn to suppurate, akin to pýon, pýos pus) + -ma noun suffix denoting result of action

OTHER WORDS FROM empyema

em·py·e·mic, adjective

Words nearby empyema

empty-handed, empty-headed, empty-nest syndrome, empty-nester, empurple, empyema, empyesis, empyreal, empyrean, empyreuma, emr
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for empyema

British Dictionary definitions for empyema

empyema
/ (ˌɛmpaɪˈiːmə) /

noun plural -emata (-ˈiːmətə) or -emas

a collection of pus in a body cavity, esp in the chest

Derived forms of empyema

empyemic, adjective

Word Origin for empyema

C17: from Medieval Latin, from Greek empuēma abscess, from empuein to suppurate, from puon pus
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

Medical definitions for empyema

empyema
[ ĕm′pī-ē′mə ]

n. pl. em•py•e•ma•ta (-mə-tə)

The presence of pus in a body cavity, especially the pleural cavity.

Other words from empyema

em′py•e′mic adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.