Definitions

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

  • noun Inflammation of the tissue surrounding a fingernail or toenail.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Plural of paronychium.
  • noun In pathology, inflammation about the nail; whitlow.
  • noun [capitalized] [NL. (A. L. de Jussieu, 1815).] A genus of apetalous plants of the order Illecebraceæ, type of the tribe Paronychieæ, known by the involucrate calyx of five hooded segments, each with a horn, point, or awn on the back.

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

  • noun (Med.) A whitlow, or felon{3}.

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

  • noun medicine An infection under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.

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

  • noun low-growing annual or perennial herbs or woody plants; whitlowworts
  • noun infection in the tissues adjacent to a nail on a finger or toe

Etymologies

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

[Latin parōnychia, from Greek parōnukhiā : para-, around; see para– + onux, onukh-, nail; see nogh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin paronychia, plural of paronychium

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Examples

  • Those infections, called paronychia, are caused by nibbling the skin around the fingernails, picking hangnails, trimming the cuticle too closely, wearing artificial nails, or using harsh cleansers or steel wool without wearing gloves.

    Q&A: Preventing skin infections around the nails? 2010

  • Those infections, called paronychia, are caused by nibbling the skin around the fingernails, picking hangnails, trimming the cuticle too closely, wearing artificial nails, or using harsh cleansers or steel wool without wearing gloves.

    Q&A: Preventing skin infections around the nails? 2010

  • For example, targeted chemotherapy drugs (that zone in on one area of the body)—such as Taxol, for breast cancer—can cause fingernails and cuticles to become swollen and inflamed (a nail disease called paronychia).

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • For example, targeted chemotherapy drugs (that zone in on one area of the body)—such as Taxol, for breast cancer—can cause fingernails and cuticles to become swollen and inflamed (a nail disease called paronychia).

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • For example, targeted chemotherapy drugs (that zone in on one area of the body)—such as Taxol, for breast cancer—can cause fingernails and cuticles to become swollen and inflamed (a nail disease called paronychia).

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • Damage it and you risk the nasty infection paronychia, says Bailey.

    Protecting the health of your nails for a polished look 2011

  • Cuticles are near the nail growth center and also protect the proximal nail groove, which, if exposed, is vulnerable to bacteria, fungus and paronychia, a common nail infection.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • Cuticles are near the nail growth center and also protect the proximal nail groove, which, if exposed, is vulnerable to bacteria, fungus and paronychia, a common nail infection.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • Cuticles are near the nail growth center and also protect the proximal nail groove, which, if exposed, is vulnerable to bacteria, fungus and paronychia, a common nail infection.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • He shows signs of the paronychia—just as the first Mark Stewart does; his nails have some additional ridges on them because of trauma to the nail beds.

    Dark Mirror Diane Duane 1993

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