hives
noun/haɪvz/
Etymology Uncertain, but frequently connected with heave, even if such a derivation is phonologically difficult.
1
Plural normally Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or due to other conditions.
- So when I was diagnosed with a fairly difficult-to-treat disease called idiopathic angioedema and chronic urticaria (a fancy way of saying we don’t know why you swell and hey, enjoy the 24/7 hives) six months ago, I wasn't quite sure how to cope.2014 January 20, Simona Supekar, “How the Internet Helped Me Cope With My Rare Disease”, in The Atlantic:
- When she recovers enough to look down at her arms [...] she blinks to see them covered in faint, but rising, puffy welts. Hives. She's breaking out in hives.2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 108:
- Synonyms
- urticaria, nettle-rash