amygdalitis

English edit

Etymology edit

From international scientific vocabulary, probably from French amygdalite (“tonsillitis”); the English word does not correspond to its surface analysis, amygdal- +‎ -itis, despite that cognation is involved in all these words (that is, they all trace back to the Latin word amygdala (“almond”)). In English the combining form of amygdalo- corresponds to the amygdala (a brain component), whereas in French the word for a palatine tonsil likewise comes from the Latin word amygdala; the shared semantic connection is that both of the body parts were named for their almond-shaped form.

Noun edit

amygdalitis (uncountable)

(obsolete) tonsillitis
- 1911 October 14, Gordon Wilson, “The treatment of the portal of entry of systemic diseases”, in New York Medical Journal, volume 94, number 16, page 765:
  In discussing the question of the treatment of acute articular rheumatism, with its associated diseases, such as endocarditis, chorea, and amygdalitis, it is well to review briefly the question of the ætiology of rheumatic fever.