Abscessing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An infection manifests as a localized accumulation of pus in a particular area of tissue that signifies inflammation
2. The formation of a painful, swollen cavity filled with pus in the body indicates an underlying infection
3. The process where tissue becomes inflamed and pus accumulates in a confined area due to infection

Etymology: "Abscessing" is the present participle of "abscess," so the real story lies in the noun. Its Latin source, "abscessus," meant simply "a going away" or "a departure," and it was built from "abscēdere," "to go away," which joins "abs," meaning "away from," to "cēdere," "to go." The sense of pus came from a medical extension: a gathering of humours in the body was imagined as something that had withdrawn from its proper place and collected in one spot. English borrowed the word directly from Latin, so the noun keeps the Latin idea of motion away. The verb form "abscess" and its participle "abscessing" follow from that noun, describing the process by which a localized pocket of pus forms in tissue.

Synonyms: infecting, suppurating