gout
Other forms: gouts
Gout is a painful illness that causes hot, red, swollen joints. Once known as a disease of the wealthy and gluttonous, gout can be exacerbated by eating rich, fatty foods.
Gout sounds like an old-fashioned condition, and it is often associated with famous historical figures who suffered from it, like King Henry VIII and Alexander the Great. However, it's fairly common today, possibly due to high-fat diets and longer life expectancies. The word gout comes from a Latin root gutta, or "drop," from the ancient belief that it was caused by drops of "humors" spilling into the joints from the blood.
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a painful inflammation of the big toe and foot caused by defects in uric acid metabolism resulting in deposits of the acid and its salts in the blood and jointssynonyms: gouty arthritis, urarthritistype of:arthritisinflammation of a joint or joints
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Vocabulary lists containing gout
In this poem, the speaker argues that others should not criticize his romance, which harms no one — and which might one day be considered a model for other relationships. Here are links to our lists for other poems by John Donne: "The Flea", "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning", "Song: Go and catch a falling star", "Death, be not proud", "The Sun Rising"