varicella

noun

var·​i·​cel·​la ˌver-ə-ˈse-lə 

ˌva-rə-

: chicken pox

Examples of varicella in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These include Epstein-Barr virus, varicella zoster (chicken pox), and Lyme disease. —Mark Gurarie, Verywell Health, 16 Aug. 2024

The cumulative number of illnesses prevented in the study ranged from about 5,000 cases for tetanus to around 100 million for measles and varicella. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024

Students receiving a third dose of polio vaccine after the 4th birthday are not required to receive additional doses 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine 4 doses of DTaP or another combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) 2 doses of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. —Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2024

Viruses like measles and varicella (which causes chickenpox) on average take longer than a week to incubate, so, by comparison, a three-day incubation period is already pretty fast. —Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 9 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from vari- (in variola variola) + Medieval Latin -cella, diminutive suffix (extracted from nouns such as nāvicella, diminutive of Latin nāvicula "boat," diminutive of nāvis "ship")

First Known Use

1771, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

varicella

noun

var·​i·​cel·​la ˌvar-ə-ˈsel-ə 

: chicken pox