Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A contagious disease of the conjunctiva and cornea, caused by the gram-negative bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and characterized by inflammation, hypertrophy, and formation of granules of adenoid tissue. It is a major cause of blindness in Asia and Africa.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In surgery, a granular condition of the conjunctiva of the eyelids, frequently accompanied with haziness and vascularity of the cornea; granular lids: a serious disease, often occurring after purulent ophthalmia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) a contagious granular conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is a chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun medicine An infectious disease of the eyelid caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a chronic contagious viral disease marked by inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea of the eye and the formation of scar tissue

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin trāchōma, from Greek trākhōma, from trākhus, rough.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word trachoma.

Examples

  • The resident nurse, a buxom elderly woman, said they had no real sickness; in summer, the children got a bit of conjunctivitis and diarrhea; oh, no, trachoma is very rare, and besides, we cure it; there's some chicken pox now.

    The Arabs of Palestine 1969

  • The resident nurse, a buxom elderly woman, said they had no real sickness; in summer, the children got a bit of conjunctivitis and diarrhea; oh, no, trachoma is very rare, and besides, we cure it; there's some chicken pox now.

    The Arabs of Palestine 1961

  • We've got the weapons to seriously reduce the burden of most of these diseases, including trachoma, which is the world's leading cause of blindness.

    Josh Ruxin: Racing to Save the Eyesight of 84 Million People 2009

  • However, it is unclear whether the stages of trichiasis and pannus were identified as trachoma complications.

    Trachoma in late Greek antiquity and the early Byzantine periods 2008

  • Upon their arrival at New York, it appeared that the children had contracted a disease of the eyelids, which the doctors of the Immigration Bureau declared to be trachoma, which is contagious, and in adults incurable.

    Autobiography of Seventy Years, Vol. 1-2 George Frisbie Hoar 1865

  • Funding to fight diseases including parasites that cause disfiguring elephantiasis, hookworms and a blinding eye infection called trachoma, would more than double under the 2011 budget proposal, to $155 million from $65 million.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • Funding to fight diseases including parasites that cause disfiguring elephantiasis, hookworms and a blinding eye infection called trachoma, would more than double under the 2011 budget proposal, to $155 million from $65 million.

    Reuters: Top News 2010

  • Funding to fight diseases including parasites that cause disfiguring elephantiasis, hookworms and a blinding eye infection called trachoma, would more than double under the 2011 budget proposal, to $155 million from $65 million.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • He pointed to another doctor, standing close to the last, who examined the eyes quickly and deftly (principally for a chronic and contagious disease called "trachoma"), scrupulously cleansing fingers and instrument between each immigrant.

    The Boy With the U.S. Census Francis Rolt-Wheeler 1918

  • Local, national and regional political will and leadership is also needed if we, together, are to meet the target of eliminating lymphatic filariasis, river blindness and trachoma, from the region by 2015.

    Peter Hotez: Clinton-Sebelius-Obama Apologies for Guatemala Are Just the First Step Peter Hotez 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.