Chalazia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, painless lump in the eyelid formed by a blocked oil gland
2. An inflamed cyst that occurs on the eyelid when a meibomian gland becomes obstructed and filled with fluid
3. A type of chronic inflammation in the eye region resulting from a buildup of secretions within a gland, leading to localized swelling

Etymology: "Chalazia" is the plural of "chalazion", a small, painless lump that forms when an oil gland in the eyelid becomes blocked. The name comes from Ancient Greek, where "khalaza" meant "hail", the small hard pellet of ice that falls from a storm. Greek physicians then applied the diminutive "khalazion" to the lump, since it resembles a little hailstone under the skin. The Greek term passed into Late Latin as "chalazion", and medical writers carried it into their own languages, which is how English came to use it. The word is a plain technical borrowing: a Greek image of a hailstone, preserved in Latin medical vocabulary and then in English.