Amygdale

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A surgical term for an outgrowth at the tongue’s root.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331.

Historical Definition

Amygdale, among surgeons, is the superfluous flesh growing at the root of the tongue.

Meaning

The qualification “among surgeons” places the word within a particular field of use. Its description is anatomical and evaluative: the tissue is regarded as superfluous. The entry does not identify a cause, specify a normal structure or provide a diagnosis. For that reason, it is more accurate to retain the described location and condition than to substitute a modern medical name. In a passage about surgery, this term points to what is observed and where, not by itself to how it should be treated.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 3; facsimile PDF page 331 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Amygdale