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Added 9 October 2026

stye

/ˈstaɪ̯/ noun

In Latin: hordeolus, varulus First recorded: 17th century Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about stye at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid.

Origin

First recorded in the 17th century; probably a back-formation from Middle English styanye (first recorded in the 15th century), which in turn comes from Old English stīgend (“a small tumour on the edge of the eyelid, stye”), from the verb stīgan (“to climb, ascend, rise”) + Middle English eie (“eye”). Equivalent to sty + eye.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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