cold sore

noun

cold sore

noun

US /ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/

Etymology Compound of cold + sore, probably for the tendency of the vesicles to recur along with other illness, or possibly during cold weather, though this explanation is less common. Compare synonym fever blister.

Medicine, Pathology, Sciences A small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).

Synonyms: fever blister, herpes, herpes labialis, herpes simplex, herpes simplex 1

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.