sty

or stye

[ stahy ]

/ staɪ /

noun, plural sties. Ophthalmology.

a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.

Nearby words

Origin of sty

1610–20; by false division of Middle English styanye sty (styan (Old English stīgend sty, literally, rising) + ye eye), taken to be sty on eye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stye

They be Chichesters then—the werry best breed as a man ever had in his stye.
The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit|Richard Harris
Thou female imp of Appollo, more mischievous than Circe, who fed gentlemen of the army in a hog's-stye!
Three Hours after Marriage|John Gay
A Sow had just farrowed, and lay in the stye, with her whole litter of pigs about her.
sop's Fables|sop
And if you'll only come here, to the right, I'll shew you the stye where our pig is, that's to be caught by the tail.
The Wanderer (Volume 3 of 5)|Fanny Burney

Then put yourself in the second stye, never come put any more, and subtract.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 101, July 25, 1891|Various

British Dictionary definitions for stye (1 of 2)

stye

sty

/ (staɪ) /

noun plural styes or sties

inflammation of a sebaceous gland of the eyelid, usually caused by bacteriatechnical name hordeolum

Word Origin for stye

C15 styanye (mistakenly taken as sty on eye), from Old English stīgend rising, hence swelling, stye + ye eye

British Dictionary definitions for stye (2 of 2)

sty

/ (staɪ) /

noun plural sties

a pen in which pigs are housed and fed

any filthy or corrupt place

verb sties, stying or stied

to enclose or be enclosed in a sty

Word Origin for sty

Old English stig; related to Old Norse stīa pen, fold, Old High German stīga, Middle Dutch stije

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 stye (1 of 2)

sty

n.1

"pen for pigs," Old English sti, stig "hall, pen" (in sti-fearh), from Proto-Germanic *stijan (cf. Old Norse stia "sty, kennel," Old High German stiga "pen for small cattle").

Word Origin and History for stye (1 of 2)

sty

n.2

"inflamed swelling in the eyelid," 1610s, probably a back-formation from Middle English styany (as though sty on eye), mid-15c., from Old English stigend "sty," literally "riser," from present participle of stigan "go up, rise," from Proto-Germanic *stig- (see stair).

Medicine definitions for stye

sty

n. pl. sties

Inflammation of one or more sebaceous glands of an eyelid.hordeolum