chilblains

1 9.9

Small painful itchy red swellings on fingers, toes, or ears after cold, damp weather

noun
/ˈtʃɪlˌbleɪnz/

: piernitis

After spending the day outside in the cold, she noticed painful itchy swellings on her fingers, a sign of chilblains.

Examples

HAS HE GOT CHILBLAINS?

Nanook of the North (1922)
HE SAYS IT'S GOOD FOR HIS CHILBLAINS.

Nanook of the North (1922)
HE MAY THINK IT'S GOOD FOR HIS CHILBLAINS, BUT IF THAT'S THE ONLY MEDICINE HE'S GOT FAITH IN, I HOPE HE NEVER GETS BARBER'S RASH.

Nanook of the North (1922)
Despite wearing gloves, he still developed chilblains on his toes after walking in the damp weather.
During the winter months, people often suffer from chilblains due to poor circulation and cold exposure.

Synonyms

pernio

vschilblains

Specialized

9.9

Swollen red skin on fingers or toes after cold, wet weather

is the more common name for the same condition

blain

vschilblains

Archaic

9.9

A painful swollen sore on the skin often caused by cold or injury

is a specific painful, itchy swelling caused by cold and damp on extremities

How Severe

frostbite

Specialized

30 4.4

chilblains

1 9.9

Surface Forms

chilblains plural

Morphology

chilblains = chilblain (semi-transparent) = chil + blain + s

The plural '-s' is a regular and fully productive inflection from the singular noun 'chilblain'.

Etymology

Chilblains comes from two old parts: chill meaning 'cold' and blain meaning 'sore' or 'blister', and the blain part is like the common word blister. So chilblains are painful, itchy sores or swellings that happen after being in cold, damp weather.