stye

British  

/ staɪ /

noun

1. inflammation of a sebaceous gland of the eyelid, usually caused by bacteria technical name hordeolum

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Etymology

Origin of stye

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

Explanation

If you've ever gotten a swollen infection in your eyelid, you know just how unpleasant a stye can be. Styes are red and painful, and they're caused by touching your eye with dirty hands. You can spell this word stye or sty, but don't confuse it with the kind of sty a pig lives in. Your doctor might refer to a stye as a hordeolum, but what ever you call it, it's a common bacterial infection that usually goes away on its own. Stye comes from the Middle English styany, or "stye on eye," from a root that means "to go up or rise."

Example Sentences

Daily Practice Cleanser and Eye Cream “After a horrible stye last fall, I’ve been obsessed with keeping my eyes clean.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

And they could make an incision to squeeze out a stye.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2022

An ER doctor told me I had a severe stye – an infection by staphylococcus aureus bacteria of the eyelid – caused by my poor diet and dirty living conditions.

From The Guardian • Oct. 30, 2019

“That if you play with fire, you will pee the bed. She also said that if you get a stye in your eye, you had taken a pee along the road. Obviously a urine-centric theme.”

From The Guardian • Jun. 1, 2018

No scolding within doors about the grist; no squeaking in the stye; no boy sent off in the rain to the mill.

From Cottage Economy To Which Is Added The Poor Man's Friend by Cobbett, William