tonsillitis
noun
Tonsillitis is an infection of the tonsils, two glands in our neck. When they are infected by a virus or bacteria, they become swollen and red. The throat becomes sore when eating or drinking, and in some cases, you may have a temperature or lose your voice. When you have tonsillitis, you must drink lots of water, get lots of rest and go to the doctors. If you don’t get better you may need an operation.
The word comes from tonsil, in Latin ‘tonsilla’ and -itis ‘inflammation’.
One of the main symptoms is having a sore throat; however, this may not always be due to tonsillitis. Doctors may sometimes refer to it as pharyngitis a specialised word of Greek origin (pharynx meaning ‘throat’ and -itis ‘inflammation’).
tonsillitis
