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fester

 - 6 dictionary results

fes⋅ter

  [fes-ter]
Use fester in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to form pus; generate purulent matter; suppurate.
2. to cause ulceration, as a foreign body in the flesh.
3. to putrefy or rot.
4. to rankle, as a feeling of resentment.
–verb (used with object)
5. to cause to rankle: Malice festered his spirit.
–noun
6. an ulcer; a rankling sore.
7. a small, purulent, superficial sore.
Origin:
1350–1400; (n.) ME festir, festre < AF, OF festre < L fistula fistula (for -l- > -r- cf. chapter ); (v.) ME festryn, deriv. of the n. or < OF festrir
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fester
fes·ter   (fěs'tər)   
v.   fes·tered, fes·ter·ing, fes·ters

v.   intr.

  1. To generate pus; suppurate.

  2. To form an ulcer.

  3. To undergo decay; rot.

    1. To be or become an increasing source of irritation or poisoning; rankle: bitterness that festered and grew.

    2. To be subject to or exist in a condition of decline: allowed the once beautiful park to fester.

v.   tr.
To infect, inflame, or corrupt.
n.  A small festering sore or ulcer; a pustule.

[Middle English festren, from festre, fistula, from Old French, from Latin fistula.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fester  (v.)
1377, from O.Fr. festre, from L. fistula "pipe, ulcer" (see fistula). The noun is from 1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1fes·ter
Pronunciation: 'fes-t&r
Function: noun
: a suppurating sore : PUSTULE

Main Entry: 2fester
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: fes·tered; fes·ter·ing /-t(&-)ri[ng]/
: to generate pus
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

fester fes·ter (fěs'tər)
v. fes·tered, fes·ter·ing, fes·ters

  1. To ulcerate.

  2. To form pus; putrefy.

n.
An ulcer.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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