hives

See also: hivés

English

eruption of cholinergic urticaria welts on the trunk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haɪvz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪvz

Etymology 1

Uncertain, but frequently connected with heave, even if such a derivation is phonologically difficult.

Noun

hives pl (plural only)

1. Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.
   • 2014 January 20, Simona Supekar, “How the Internet Helped Me Cope With My Rare Disease”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     So when I was diagnosed with a fairly difficult-to-treat disease called idiopathic angioedema and chronic urticaria (a fancy way of saying we don’t know why you swell and hey, enjoy the 24/7 hives) six months ago, I wasn't quite sure how to cope.

   • 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 108:

     When she recovers enough to look down at her arms [...] she blinks to see them covered in faint, but rising, puffy welts. Hives. She's breaking out in hives.

Synonyms

• urticaria
• nettle-rash

Translations

medical condition — see urticaria

Etymology 2

See hive

Noun

hives

1. plural of hive

Verb

hives

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of hive

Anagrams

• Shive, shive