tonsil

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   either of the two visible masses of lymphatic tissue at the back of the throat

   The doctor examined her swollen tonsils with a small light.

2. 2
   noun

   any of several masses of lymphoid tissue forming a defensive ring around the throat and nasal passages

   The pharyngeal tonsil is more commonly called the adenoid.

Borrowed in the late sixteenth century from French tonsille and Latin tonsillae ("tonsils"). The Latin source is usually found in the plural because the prominent palatine tonsils occur as a pair.

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