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Glite Dictionary
🌾 Related to millet 🔬 Many small spots
miliary

miliary

9.1
Having many tiny spots like millet seeds
  • adjective
  • /ˈmɪljəri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : miliar
  • The doctor noted the miliary lesions on the patient's skin, indicating a possible infection.

Examples

  • The miliary spots on the X-ray led the radiologist to suspect tuberculosis.

  • During the examination, the pathologist found miliary deposits in the lung tissue, which suggested the presence of a serious disease.

  • Histopathologic examination of the involved middle ear and mastoid mucosa will show three types of changes: miliary, granulomatous, and caseous.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

nodular
vsmiliary
1 7.7

Having small round lumps or bumps on the surface

refers to many tiny seed like spots rather than a general lumpy look
multinodular
vsmiliary
  • Specialized
7.9

Having many small lumps in an organ such as the thyroid

emphasizes tiny seed like spots rather than general small lumps
noduled
vsmiliary
  • Specialized
9.9

Having small round lumps on the surface

highlights many tiny seed like spots rather than just having bumps

Compounds

miliary fever
  • Archaic
9.9

A serious sickness in the 1500s that spread between people and caused heavy sweating and many deaths

miliary tuberculosis
  • Specialized
8.1

A serious disease in which tuberculosis germs spread through the blood and make many tiny spots in the body

Surface Forms

miliary positive

Morphology

miliary = millet (semi-transparent) = mili + ary

Formed from the millet-related root with the productive adjectival suffix '-ary', but the medical sense 'covered with small seed-like nodules' is a specialized, metaphorical extension.

Etymology

Miliary comes from the word millet, a very small seed. Doctors used miliary to describe many tiny spots or lumps that 'look like millet seeds', so a miliary rash or miliary tuberculosis is named for that seed-like appearance.