stye
2 synonyms for stye, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — An infection caused by bacteria in the eyelid or eyelash.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
First recorded in the 17th century; probably a back-formation from Middle English styanye (first recorded in the 15th century), which in turn comes from Old English stīgend (“a small tumour on the edge of the eyelid, stye”), from the verb stīgan (“to climb, ascend, rise”) + Middle English eie (“eye”). Equivalent to sty...
Full origin of stye →