pus

[puhs]

See more synonyms for pus on Thesaurus.com

noun

a yellow-white, more or less viscid substance produced by suppuration and found in abscesses, sores, etc., consisting of a liquid plasma in which white blood cells are suspended.

Origin of pus

1535–45; < Latin; akin to Greek pýon pus. See pyo-

Related formspus·like, adjective

Can be confusedpus puss

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pus

matter, sinus, pustule, maturation, suppuration, purulence

Examples from the Web for pus

Contemporary Examples of pus

Swelling, pus, the whole shebang; an angry reaction that lasted weeks.
Uh Oh: Ebola Vaccine Trials Stop
Leigh Cowart
December 19, 2014
At that point, Tyson had become a scavenger spewing bile and pus.
Bloody Brilliant
Stanley Crouch
April 24, 2009

Historical Examples of pus

And he repeats the Arabic proverb in broken Arabic, “A drop of pus will disable a camel.”
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
Claudopus is from two Greek words: claudos, lame; pus, foot.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
This case had not proceeded far enough for the formation of the cyst or pus.
Cattle and Their Diseases
Robert Jennings
They declared that it was not necessary "that pus should be generated in wounds."
Old-Time Makers of Medicine
James J. Walsh
Mucus and pus (matter such as comes from an abscess) may also be discharged.
The Home Medical Library, Volume II (of VI)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for pus

pus

noun

the yellow or greenish fluid product of inflammation, composed largely of dead leucocytes, exuded plasma, and liquefied tissue cells

Word Origin for pus

C16: from Latin pūs; related to Greek 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

Word Origin and History for pus

late 14c., from Latin pus "pus, matter from a sore;" figuratively "bitterness, malice" (related to puter "rotten;" cf. putrid), from PIE *pu- (2) "to rot, decay" (cf. Sanskrit puyati "rots, stinks," putih "stinking, foul;" Greek puon "discharge from a sore," pythein "to cause to rot;" Gothic fuls, Old English ful "foul"), perhaps originally echoic of a natural exclamation of disgust.

pus in Medicine

pus

[pŭs]

A generally viscous, yellowish-white fluid formed in infected tissue, consisting of white blood cells, cellular debris, and necrotic tissue.

pus in Science

pus

[pŭs]

A thick, yellowish-white liquid that forms in infected body tissues, consisting of white blood cells, dead tissue, and cellular debris.