waxing kernel

English

Etymology

See wax (“to grow”); so called because it is purported to be caused by growth of the body.

Noun

waxing kernel (plural waxing kernels)

1. (medicine, obsolete) A small tumour formed by the enlargement of the lymphatic glands, especially in the groins of children.
   • 1655, Thomas Ruthven, The Ladies Cabinet Enlarged and Opened:

     […] Waxing Kernels, called by some Scrophula

References

• “wax”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.