varix

Etymology

Via Middle English varix from Latin varix, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wers-. See also Old Church Slavonic врьхъ (vrĭxŭ, “top, peak”), Ancient Greek ἕρμα (hérma, “reef, rock, hill”), Lithuanian viršus (“top”).

Noun

varix (plural varices)

1. (medicine) a varicose, i.e. swollen and knotted, vein
2. (zoology) In mollusks, a particular ridge on the shell, corresponding to a former position of the aperture.
   • 1995, Geerat J. Vermeij, A Natural History of Shells‎, page 31:

     In the personid genus Distorsio, varix formation is accompanied by a reorientation of the aperture.

Anagrams

• arXiv

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“highland, high”). See also varus, Old Church Slavonic врьхъ (vrĭxŭ, “top, peak”), Ancient Greek ἕρμα (hérma, “reef, rock, hill”) and Lithuanian viršus (“top”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈwa.riks/, [ˈwa.rɪks]

Noun

varix m, f (genitive varicis); third declension

1. (medicine) a varicose vein

References

• varix in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• varix in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• varix in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)