varicella
part of speech
noun (varicella, uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) (medicine) The proper medical name for chickenpox, a common illness that gives an itchy rash of spots and blisters, mostly in children. tree →
2) (medicine) The virus that causes it, called the varicella-zoster virus. tree →
sense in the lessons
You will mostly hear "chickenpox" in everyday life; doctors, nurses and vaccine leaflets use "varicella". It spreads easily from person to person. Many children are given a varicella vaccine, which helps protect them. The same virus can wake up years later in an adult and cause shingles (herpes zoster). Phrases: "varicella vaccine", "varicella-zoster virus".
examples
- Varicella is the doctor's word for chickenpox. tree →
- The leaflet said the varicella vaccine protects children from chickenpox. tree →
- My little brother had varicella and was covered in itchy spots. tree →
- The nurse wrote "varicella" on the school note. tree →
- Varicella spreads easily, so children stay home until the spots crust over. tree →
- The varicella virus can return years later as shingles. tree →
note
Uncountable: say "varicella", not "a varicella". Pronounced VARR-ih-SELL-uh. It has nothing to do with chickens: the name "chickenpox" is old and its origin is not certain. Do not scratch the spots, as they can scar. A doctor, not a pupil, decides if someone has it.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «varicella» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.