mumps

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a contagious viral illness, especially of children, that causes fever and painful swelling of the salivary glands

   Vaccination has made mumps far less common in many countries.

2. 2
   noun

   an archaic term for a fit of sulkiness or gloomy silence

   The child sat in the mumps after being told that the outing was cancelled.

Simplified etymology

Mumps, recorded from the late 16th century, is related to the old word mum meaning “hush!” The name refers to the facial appearance caused by the disease, likened to the expression of someone pressing the lips together to keep silent.

Recorded as a disease name in the seventeenth century, from mump, "to grimace or sulk." The name probably refers to the swollen face and painful movement of the jaw caused by the illness. The word is conventionally treated as singular despite its final -s.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary