jaundice
/ˈd͡ʒɔndɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.71 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A morbid condition, characterized by yellowness of the eyes, skin, and urine.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Why ſhould a man whoſe bloud is warme within, / Sit like his Grandſire, cut in Alabaſter? / Sleepe when he wakes? and creep into the Iaundies / By being peeuiſh?"
- "But look in this new mirror, lovely friend. / Both gods and fairies wait on lovers' wills. / That jaundices be changed to daffodils!"
- "In British folk medicine there are some unusual remedies for jaundice. A bizarre superstition from Staffordshire is that if a bladder is filled with the patient's urine and placed near the fire, as it dries out, the patient will recover (Black 1883: 56)."
- "Just ask the doctors how many cases of infantile jaundice in newborn babies have this scene that particular week?"
- "No, sir, he, / Vex'd with a morbid devil in his blood / That veil'd the world with jaundice, hid his face / From all men, and commercing with himself, / He lost the sense that handles daily life— […]"
- "The envy of wealth jaundiced his soul."
Etymology
From Middle English jaundis, jaunis, from Middle French jaunisse, from jaune (“yellow”) + -isse (“-ness”). Jaune, from Old French jalne, from Latin galbinus (“yellowish”), from galbus (“yellow”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: jaundis, jaunisse, jalne, galbinus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈd͡ʒɔndɪs/
- British English: /ˈd͡ʒɔːndɪs/