comedo

English

an illustration of different comedones

Alternative forms

• comedone

Etymology

From Latin comedō (“glutton”). Applied to blackheads on account of the popular belief that they were parasitic worms that consumed the host’s nutrients, especially in children, thereby causing weight loss and illness. Compare Danish hudorm (“comedo”, literally “skin-worm”).

More information

In Johann Heinrich Zedler's universal lexicon, comedo is one of four Latin translations for the entry Mitesser, Zehrwürmer and Dürrmaden, literally "along-eaters", "draining worms" "dry-maggots", which are described as "aschenfarbige oder schwärzlichte Würmlein [...] sie pflegen in der Haut der jungen Kinder nicht anders als kleine schwarze Härlein zu stecken: und sind eine ordentliche Ursache der Schwindung und Abnehmen der Kinder; Die Kinder schreyen und weinen unter steten Wachen, und denn sagen die Weiber, das Kind sey entweder beschrien, oder habe die Mitesser. Diese Würme kann man aus der Haut locken [...]", translated: "ash-colored or blackish little worms which are found in the skin of young children with the appearance of tiny black hairs. They are a major cause of children's weight loss; the children cry and scream constantly and won't fall asleep. To this the women say that the child is either cursed or has comedones. These worms can be lured out of the skin." Likewise, in Johann Theodor Jablonski's lexicon from 1721, Latin comedones is found as a translation for Mitesser along vermiculi cutanei, which translates to "skin-worms". Curiously though, this entry provides a sensible explanation: "Sie werden vermuthlich aus einem fette und rohen saffte, so sich von dem geblüt scheidet, und durch die verstopften schweißlöcher nicht ausdämpffen kan, erzeuget", translated: "They are probably produced from fat and a raw humor that separates from the blood and cannot evaporate through the blocked sweat pores." Likewise, the Bartholomaei Castelli Lexicon Medicum Graeco-Latinum from 1713 says the following about comedones: "Comedones etiam appellantur a quibusdam medicis vermiculi illi in dorso infantum & puerorum per poros cutaneos prominentes cum subsequente contabescentia, qui alias dicuntur crinones [...]", translated: "Comedones are also called, by some physicians, those little worms that can be found in the backs of infants and children, that come forth through the pores of the skin, with a following weight loss. They are elsewhere called crinones.." Likewise, Heinrich Mylich explains in his inaugural dissertation from 1827: "Comedones ita dicti sunt, quod, priusquam Vogel naturam ipsorum diligentius inquireret atque exponeret, opinio invaluerat, eos vivos esse vermiculos, qui victum suum ex hoc morbo afflictis depromerent. Sic quoque putabatur eos atrophiae infantum causam suggerere.", translated: "Comedones are called so because, before Vogel explored their nature thoroughly and wrote about it, the belief had taken roots that they were live worms, living off those who suffer from this disease. They were likewise believed to bring about malnutrition in infants." The superstition in the matter is also shown by this entry in Kaspar von Stieler's Latin lexicon of the German language from 1691: "et böse Dinger dicuntur dracunculi, vermes nimirum infantum alimentum absumentes, quare & alio nomine Miteßer & zehrende Elben [...], incubi dicuntur. Suntq(ue) erucae, quae lamiae ex coitu Satanico procreant ac postea per fascinationem in membra hominum immittunt.", translated: "evil things is a name for the dragonlings, that is worms that deprive infants of their nutrients, for which reason they are also called along-eaters and draining sprites, which means incubi. It is also a word for worms (here called erucae) which witches give birth to from satanic union and later on cast into human limbs by witchcraft."

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmədəʊ/, /kəˈmiːdəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England); /kəˈmiːdəʊ/:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːdəʊ

Noun

comedo (plural comedones or comedos)

1. (medicine) A clogged hair follicle in the skin, formed when keratin combines with oil to block the follicle.

   Coordinate terms: (blackhead) open comedo, (whitehead) closed comedo

   • 1964, Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun:

     Lying on, in, under her, I pore with squinnying eyes on a mole on that browngold rivercolour riverripple skin with its smell of sun, or else a tiny unsqueezed comedo by the flat and splaying nose.

Derived terms

• closed comedo
• comedoadenocarcinoma
• comedocarcinoma
• comedo extraction
• comedogen
• comedogenic
• comedolytic
• comedonal
• comedonecrotic
• microcomedo
• open comedo
• solar comedo

Translations

A blackhead or whitehead

• Danish: hudorm (da) c
• Dutch: mee-eter (nl) m
• Finnish: mustapää (fi)
• French: comédon (fr) m
• German: Mitesser (de) m, Komedo (de) m
• Greek: φαγέσωρας (el) m (fagésoras)
• Italian: comedone (it) m
• Norwegian: hurdorm c
• Polish: zaskórnik (pl) m, wągier (pl) m, wągr m
• Spanish: comedón (es) m, espinilla (es) f
• Swedish: pormask (sv) c
• Turkish: komedon
• Ukrainian: вуго́р m (vuhór)

Further reading

• comedo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• coomed

Italian

Alternative forms

• commedo

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cōmoedus, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδός (kōmōidós, “chorus singer; comic poet”), from κωμῳδία (kōmōidía, “comedy, play”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koˈmɛ.do/
• Rhymes: -ɛdo
• Hyphenation: co‧mè‧do

Noun

comedo m (plural comedi) (literary)

1. a writer of comedies
2. an actor of comedies

Related terms

• commedia

See also

• tragedo

Further reading

• comedo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• comode

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkɔ.mɛ.doː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkɔː.me.do]

Etymology 1

From con- +‎ edō (“to eat”).

Verb

comedō (present infinitive comedere or comēsse, perfect active comēdī, supine comēsum or comēssum or comēstum); third conjugation, irregular alternative forms

1. to eat or chew up
2. to consume or devour
3. to fret or chafe
4. to waste or squander

Conjugation

   Conjugation of comedō (third conjugation, irregular alternative forms)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	comedō		comedis, comēs		comedit, comēst		comedimus		comeditis, comēstis		comedunt
	imperfect	comedēbam		comedēbās		comedēbat		comedēbāmus		comedēbātis		comedēbant
	future	comedam		comedēs		comedet		comedēmus		comedētis		comedent
	perfect	comēdī		comēdistī		comēdit		comēdimus		comēdistis		comēdērunt, comēdēre
	pluperfect	comēderam		comēderās		comēderat		comēderāmus		comēderātis		comēderant
	future perfect	comēderō		comēderis		comēderit		comēderimus		comēderitis		comēderint
passive	present	comedor		comederis, comedere, comēssis, comēsse		comeditur, comēstur		comedimur		comediminī		comeduntur
	imperfect	comedēbar		comedēbāris, comedēbāre		comedēbātur		comedēbāmur		comedēbāminī		comedēbantur
	future	comedar		comedēris, comedēre		comedētur		comedēmur		comedēminī		comedentur
	perfect	comēsus or comēssus or comēstus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	comēsus or comēssus or comēstus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	comēsus or comēssus or comēstus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	comedam, comedim		comedās, comedīs		comedat, comedit, comēst		comedāmus, comedīmus		comedātis, comedītis		comedant, comedint
	imperfect	comederem, comēssem		comederēs, comēssēs		comederet, comēsset		comederēmus, comēssēmus		comederētis, comēssētis		comederent, comēssent
	perfect	comēderim		comēderīs		comēderit		comēderīmus		comēderītis		comēderint
	pluperfect	comēdissem		comēdissēs		comēdisset		comēdissēmus		comēdissētis		comēdissent
passive	present	comedar		comedāris, comedāre		comedātur		comedāmur		comedāminī		comedantur
	imperfect	comederer, comēsser		comederēris, comederēre, comēssēris, comēssēre		comederētur, comēssētur		comederēmur, comēssēmur		comederēminī, comēssēminī		comederentur, comēssentur
	perfect	comēsus or comēssus or comēstus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	comēsus or comēssus or comēstus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		comede, comēs		—		—		comedite, comēste		—
	future	—		comeditō, comēstō		comeditō, comēstō		—		comeditōte, comēstōte		comeduntō
passive	present	—		comedere, comēsse		—		—		comediminī		—
	future	—		comeditor, comēstor		comeditor, comēstor		—		—		comeduntor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		comedere, comēsse			comedī			comedēns			—
future		comēsūrum esse, comēssūrum esse, comēstūrum esse			comēsum īrī, comēssum īrī, comēstum īrī			comēsūrus, comēssūrus, comēstūrus			comedendus, comedundus
perfect		comēdisse			comēsum esse, comēssum esse, comēstum esse			—			comēsus, comēssus, comēstus
future perfect		—			comēsum fore, comēssum fore, comēstum fore			—			—
perfect potential		comēsūrum fuisse, comēssūrum fuisse, comēstūrum fuisse			—			—			—
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		comedendī		comedendō		comedendum		comedendō		comēsum, comēssum, comēstum		comēsū, comēssū, comēstū

Derived terms

• comēsor
• comēstibilis
• comēstiō
• comēstor
• comēstūra
• comēsus

Descendants

• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *comēre (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

From comedō +‎ -ō.

Noun

comedō m (genitive comedōnis); third declension

1. glutton, gormandizer

   Synonyms: cataphagās, comēstor, dēgulātor, edō, gāneō, gluttō, gulō, gumia, helluō, lurcō, mandō, mandūcō, mandūcus, phagō, polyphagus

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	comedō	comedōnēs
genitive	comedōnis	comedōnum
dative	comedōnī	comedōnibus
accusative	comedōnem	comedōnēs
ablative	comedōne	comedōnibus
vocative	comedō	comedōnēs

References

• “comedo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “comedo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “comedo”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.