variola vaccine

4.4

A vaccine made from cowpox virus that protects people from smallpox and often leaves a small scar

noun
/ˌvɛrɪˈoʊlə ˈvækˌsiːn/

Specialized

: vacuna de la viruela

After receiving the variola vaccine, patients often noticed a small scar at the site of inoculation.

Examples

In the 19th century, widespread use of the variola vaccine greatly reduced smallpox outbreaks worldwide.
The variola vaccine was crucial in eradicating smallpox.
The introduction of the variola vaccine was a turning point in the fight against smallpox.
Did you receive the variola vaccine as a child?
After receiving the variola vaccine, patients often noticed a small scar at the site of inoculation.
In the 19th century, widespread use of the variola vaccine greatly reduced smallpox outbreaks worldwide.
The introduction of the variola vaccine was a turning point in the fight against smallpox.

Synonyms

vax

vsvariola vaccine

Informal

2 7.1

A short informal word for a shot that protects you from a virus

is a specific medical preparation made from cowpox virus to protect against smallpox

Surface Forms

variola vaccine singular

variola vaccines plural

Morphology

variola + vaccine

The compound follows the regular English pattern 'X vaccine' meaning 'a vaccine against X', so a learner who knows 'variola' (the disease) and 'vaccine' (a substance inducing immunity) can directly infer it is a vaccine for variola/smallpox. This compositional, noun+noun construction is cross-linguistically common and therefore readily understandable to B1 learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Variola vaccine links variola, an old name for 'smallpox', with vaccine, a word that comes from cows. It comes from the discovery that a mild disease from cows could protect people from 'smallpox', so doctors used cow material as a 'vaccine' to protect people.