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tonsil
[ ton-suhl ]
noun
- a prominent oval mass of lymphoid tissue on each side of the throat.
tonsil
/ ˈtɒnsəl /
noun
- Also calledpalatine tonsil either of two small masses of lymphatic tissue situated one on each side of the back of the mouth amygdaline
- anatomy any small rounded mass of tissue, esp lymphatic tissue
Derived Forms
- ˈtonsillar, adjective
Other Words From
- tonsil·lar tonsil·ar ton·sil·lar·y [ton, -s, uh, -ler-ee], adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of tonsil1
Word History and Origins
Origin of tonsil1
Example Sentences
Getting your tonsils removed may not be fun, but at least it’s a great excuse to eat lots of ice cream while recovering.
The tonsils are part of the immune system, which protects the body against illness.
So people don’t appear any more vulnerable to infection after their tonsils are removed.
Smaller tonsils mean a smaller chance of those tonsils getting infected.
Swann wrote that he first experienced leaving his body at the age of three, during an operation to remove his tonsils.
Next came important work associating HPV with most of these new tongue and tonsil tumors.
Tonsil, ton′sil, n. one of two glands at the root of the tongue, so named from its shape.
Sometimes only one tonsil is so affected, but the other is likely to become inflamed also.
The spots represent discharge which fills in the depressions in the tonsil.
A mucous patch appeared on one tonsil as well as further syphilitic papules from which spirochetes were obtained.
Only those studies in which were included adenoids and tonsil conditions will be reviewed here.
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About This Word
What are tonsil stones?
Tonsil stones are small yellow or white lumps embedded in the tonsils. They result from bacterial or fungal build-up that forms into a nasty-smelling—but generally—harmless mass.
How do you pronounce tonsil stones?
[ ton-suh l stohnz ]Where did the term tonsil stones come from?
Tonsil stones are one of several ways in which solid material can build up in the body to form hard masses in soft tissue—the most well-known of these being kidney stones. In the case of tonsil stones, the culprit can be food or strep throat.
The use of the word stone to describe these masses relates to the Latin scientific term, calculus (which means “pebble” or “little stone” and also a source of much pain in high school). Tonsil stones are formally called tonsilloliths, literally “tonsil stones.”
The particular term tonsil stone itself appears in medical literature in the late 19th century, although the phenomenon had been discussed under other names in medical journals as far back as 1800 and certainly experienced long before that.
In addition to mild discomfort, tonsil stones are known to produce a foul smell that causes bad breath and a funky taste in the mouth. Today, tonsil stones may be removed by a doctor or dislodged with the gargling of specialized tonics.
How to use the term tonsil stones
The term tonsil stones is mostly used in formal contexts by patients and doctors, particularly Ear-Nose-Throat physicians and specialist dentists. Some people also like to watch videos of tonsil stones being, um, “popped” on YouTube. Because the internet.
More examples of tonsil stones:
“The removal of tonsil stones — tiny, pebble-like growths that can be popped out of the tonsils — is no exception. It’s a little bit like pimple popping, just inside a throat.”
—Caroline Praderio, Insider, August 2017
“I took the flashlight on my phone and looked in the mirror and saw it…So Thursday night I felt one, and I posted it on my moms Facebook group and within 10 minutes, I had hundreds of comments of tonsil stones and how to get them out and what they were.”
—Kylee Angell quoted by Rae Daniel, KSHB, January 2018
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
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