paronychia

American  

[par-uh-nik-ee-uh] / ˌpær əˈnɪk i ə /

noun

Pathology.

1. inflammation of the folds of skin bordering a nail of a finger or toe, usually characterized by infection and pus formation; felon.

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Other Word Forms

• paronychial adjective

Etymology

Origin of paronychia

1590–1600; < Latin parōnychia < Greek parōnychía whitlow, equivalent to par- par- + onych- (stem of ónyx ) claw, nail + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

He was diagnosed with a severe case of paronychia, or the infection of the skin around the nail, and was told he required emergency surgery to remove the affected flesh.

From Fox News • Jan. 30, 2020

The perionychium is the site of hangnails, ingrown nails, and an infection of the skin called paronychia.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Long-term, habitual nail nibblers can also suffer from a type of infection called paronychia, Scher says.

From Time • Jul. 2, 2014

And hence the violent pain in some inflammations, as in the paronychia, obtains immediate relief by cutting the membrane, that was stretched by the tumour of the subjacent parts.

From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus

Hence light is as intolerable in this kind of ophthalmia, as pressure is to the finger in the paronychia.

From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus