eczema

/ˈɛk.səm.ə/

UK: /ˈɛɡz.mə/

ƐK · səm · ə (3 syllables)

English Noun Top 33,240

Definition

A non-contagious acute or chronic inflammation of the skin, characterized by redness, itching, and the outbreak of oozing vesicular lesions which become encrusted and scaly.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin eczema, from Ancient Greek ἔκζεμᾰ (ékzemă, “cutaneous eruption”), from ἐκζέω (ekzéō, “to boil out, break out”) + -μᾰ (-mă, nominal suffix).