haemorrhoids

British  

/ ˈhɛməˌrɔɪdz /

plural noun

1. Nontechnical name: piles.  pathol swollen and twisted veins in the region of the anus and lower rectum, often painful and bleeding

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• haemorrhoidal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of haemorrhoids

C14: from Latin haemorrhoidae (plural), from Greek, from haimorrhoos discharging blood, from haimo- _haemo- + rhein to flow

Example Sentences

Michael had developed stage 4 haemorrhoids - the most severe type - she said.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025

While self-isolating, Omid began to suffer from minor bleeding which he put down to haemorrhoids.

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2020

Straining to force your crap around the puborectalis can induce haemorrhoids, intestinal inflammation, fainting – even strokes, brain haemorrhaging and heart attack.

From The Guardian • Nov. 30, 2018

On a shelf is a lurid, plastic, life-size model of a rectum afflicted by every imaginable malady – haemorrhoids, fistulae, ulcerative colitis, faecaliths.

From The Guardian • Mar. 31, 2013

If the blood flows from those veins which are terminated at the neck of the matrix, then it is not called an undue discharge of the menses, but haemorrhoids of the womb.

From The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher Containing his Complete Masterpiece and Family Physician; his Experienced Midwife, his Book of Problems and his Remarks on Physiognomy by Aristotle