Trachoma
/trəˈkoʊ.mə/noun
A chronic infectious eye disease that can cause scarring of the eyelid and blindness.
Did you know?Trachoma’s name comes from Greek trakhys, “rough,” a reminder that ancient medical language often described disease by what it felt like inside the body.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
trakhys
“rough, uneven”
Late Greek
Greek
trakhōma
“roughness, especially a roughened or granular condition”
19th Century
English
trachoma
“a gritty, chronic inflammation of the eyelids and conjunctiva”
Modern English
English
trachoma
“a contagious eye infection that can cause scarring and blindness”