impostume

I1M3P3O1S1T1U1M3E1
UK/ɪmˈpɒstjuːm/

noun

An abscess.

OriginOld French empostume ← Latin apostema ← Ancient Greek ἀπόστεμα →
Scrabble 15
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounimpostume (plural impostumes)

plural impostumes · alternative imposthume

  1. obsoleteAn abscess.

    Jaſon Phereus [Jason of Pherae] [was] utterly forſaken of all Phyſitians, by reaſon of an impoſtume he had in his breaſt […]

    1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    The great impoſtume of the realme vvas dravvne / Euen to a head: the multitudinous ſpavvne / VVas the corruption, vvhich did make it ſvvell / VVith hop'd ſedition (the burnt ſeed of hell.)

    1603, [Thomas Dekker], 1603. The Wonderfull Yeare. […], London: […] by [J. Browne, Nicholas Ling, and John Smethwick for?] Thomas Creede, […], →OCLC, signature B3, recto
verbimpostume (third-person singular simple present impostumes, present participle impostuming, simple past and past participle impostumed)

present singular third person impostumes · participle present impostuming · participle past impostumed · past impostumed · alternative imposthume

  1. alternativeobsoleteAlternative form of imposthume.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἀπόστεμα“separation of pus into an abscess”
  2. Latinapostema
  3. Old Frenchempostume
  4. Englishimpostume

From Old French empostume, alteration of apostume (“apostume, large abscess”), from Latin apostema, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστεμα (apóstema, “separation of pus into an abscess”).

More words from Old French, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

impostume. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impostume

MLA

“impostume.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impostume. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impostume,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impostume.

Source: impostume on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.