variole

[ vair-ee-ohl ]

/ ˈvɛər iˌoʊl /

noun

a shallow pit or depression like the mark left by a smallpox pustule; foveola.

a light-colored spherule, common in some igneous rocks, that gives a pockmarked appearance to weathered rock surfaces.

Nearby words

vario-, variocoupler, variola, variola virus, variolate, variole, varioliform, variolite, variolitic, varioloid, variolous

Origin of variole

1820–30; < French: variola

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

Examples from the Web for variole

A roundish and rather deep depression, larger than a variole.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)|William Kirby
When a variole, tubercle, granule, &c. has a depression in its centre.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)|William Kirby

British Dictionary definitions for variole

variole

/ (ˈvɛərɪˌəʊl) /

noun

any of the rounded masses that make up the rock variolite

Word Origin for variole

C19: from French, from Medieval Latin; see variola

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