whitlow

English

Etymology

Alteration of whitflaw, the first element coming from either Dutch vijt or Low German fit (“abscess”). See flaw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪt.loʊ/, /ˈʍɪt.loʊ/

Noun

whitlow (plural whitlows)

1. An infection under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.
   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd:

     'Twas a bad leg allowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and Mark Clark learnt All-Fours in a whitlow.

Synonyms

• nimpingang (UK dialect, archaic)
• paronychia
• wicklow (common misspelling in some regions)

Coordinate terms

• agnail, hangnail

Translations

an infection

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 瘭 (zh) (biāo), 肉刺 (zh) (ròucì)

• Finnish: kynsinauhantulehdus
• French: panaris (fr) m
• German: Panaritium (de) n
• Italian: paronichia f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 瘭疽 (ひょうそ, hyōso)
• Polish: zastrzał m
• Portuguese: paroníquia f, panarício m, unheiro (pt) m
• Russian: панари́ций (ru) m (panarícij)
• Spanish: panadizo m

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “whitlow”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.