Paronychia
/ˌpærəˈnɪkiə/noun
An infection or inflammation of the skin around a fingernail or toenail.
Did you know?Paronychia comes from Greek medical vocabulary built from para- (“beside, near”) + onyx/onykhos (“nail”), a reminder that many “mystical-sounding” words are really ancient body-maps preserved in Latin and medicine.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
παρωνυχία (parōnychía)
“An inflammation around the nail”
Late Latin
Latin
paronychia
“A nail-side inflammation; a medical term borrowed from Greek”
Middle English
English
paronyky / paronychia
“A disease or soreness around the nail”
Modern English
English
paronychia
“Inflammation or infection of the skin around a nail”