pimple

English

Etymology

Early Modern English pimple, pumple (not found in Middle English), probably a nasalized variation of Old English piplian, pyplian (“to break out in pimples, show eruptions”). Akin to Old English pipliġende (“having shingles”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: pĭm'p(ə)l
• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪmp(ə)l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmpəl

Noun

pimple (plural pimples)

1. An inflamed (raised and colored) spot on the surface of the skin that is usually painful and fills with pus.

   I had to pop that embarrassing pimple, it was huge and red and on the tip of my nose.

2. (slang) An annoying person.

   He's such a pimple! I wish he'd stop being so irritating!

Synonyms

• acker (old Australian slang)
• acne
• pustule
• spot (UK, slang)
• zit (US, slang)

Related terms

• pimpled
• pimply

Translations

inflamed spot on the surface of the skin

• Albanian: puçërr (sq)
• Arabic: بَثْرَة‏‎ f (baṯra)

  Egyptian Arabic: حبة‏‎ f (ḥaba)

• Armenian: պզուկ (hy) (pzuk)
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: прышч m (pryšč), ву́гар m (vúhar), вуго́р m (vuhór)
• Bulgarian: пъ̀пка (bg) f (pǎ̀pka), пъ̀пчица f (pǎ̀pčica)
• Burmese: ဝက်ခြံ (my) (wakhkram)
• Catalan: bua (ca) f, buba f
• Cebuano: bugas
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 疙瘩 (zh) (gēda), 丘疹 (zh) (qiūzhěn)

• Czech: uher m, pupínek m
• Danish: filipens
• Dutch: puist (nl) f, pukkel (nl)
• Esperanto: akno
• Estonian: vistrik
• Finnish: näppy (fi), finni (fi), märkänäppylä
• French: bouton (fr) m, pustule (fr) f
• Georgian: მუწუკი (muc̣uḳi)
• German: Pickel (de) m, Oas n (Bavaria)
• Greek: σπυρί (el) n (spyrí), σπυράκι (el) n (spyráki)
• Hebrew: פצעון‏‎
• Hindi: मुंहासा m (munhāsā)
• Hungarian: pattanás (hu)
• Icelandic: nabbi m, bóla (is) f, graftarbóla (is) f
• Ilocano: kamuro
• Irish: goirín m
• Italian: pustola (it), pustoletta, brufolo m, foruncoloso m
• Japanese: 面皰 (ja) (にきび, níkibi), 丘疹 (きゅうしん, kyūshin)
• Kapampangan: punggod
• Kazakh: безеу (bezew)
• Khmer: មុន (km) (mŭn)
• Korean: 여드름 (ko) (yeodeureum)
• Lao: ສິວ (siu)

• Latin: pustula f
• Latvian: pūte f
• Lithuanian: spuogas m
• Macedonian: бубула f (bubula)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: kiritona, para, mariao, huahua, mokamoka
• Mongolian: батга (mn) (batga)
• Norwegian: kvise (no) c
• Okinawan: にくん (nikun)
• Old English: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: جوش‏‎ (fa) (juš)
• Pitjantjatjara: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: pryszcz (pl) m inan, krosta (pl) f
• Portuguese: borbulha (pt) f, espinha (pt) f
• Quechua: cupu
• Romanian: coș (ro)
• Russian: прыщ (ru) m (pryšč), пры́щик (ru) m (prýščik), у́горь (ru) m (úgorʹ), па́пула (ru) f (pápula), пупы́рышек (ru) m (pupýryšek)
• Scottish Gaelic: pluc m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бубуљица f, пришт m

  Roman: bubuljica (sh) f, prišt (sh) m

• Sicilian: brufulu (scn) m
• Slovak: pupienok m
• Slovene: pustula f
• Spanish: espinilla (es) f
• Swedish: finne (sv) c
• Tagalog: tagihawat, katil (very itchy)
• Thai: สิว (th) (sĭw)
• Turkish: sivilce (tr)
• Ukrainian: прищ m (pryšč), вуго́р m (vuhór)
• Vietnamese: mụn nhọt
• Waray-Waray: punggod
• Welsh: tosyn m
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

annoying person

• Dutch: etter (nl) m, puistenkop (nl) m, ellendeling (nl) m
• French: casse-couilles (fr) m
• Greek: κακό σπυρί n (kakó spyrí)

• Maori: pōrearea
• Russian: негодя́й (ru) m (negodjáj)
• Spanish: pendejo (es) m

See also

• blackhead
• whitehead

Verb

pimple (third-person singular simple present pimples, present participle pimpling, simple past and past participle pimpled)

1. To develop pimples