Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A noncancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland, visible as a swelling at the front of the neck, that is often associated with iodine deficiency.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In pathology, a morbid enlargement of the thyroid gland on the front part and side or sides of the neck; struma.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) An enlargement of the thyroid gland, on the anterior part of the neck, usually resulting from iodine deficiency; bronchocele. It is frequently associated with cretinism, and was at one time common in mountainous regions, especially in certain parts of Switzerland. The incidence of goiter has been substantially reduced by addition of iodine to ceratin foods, such as salt.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of goitre.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun abnormally enlarged thyroid gland; can result from underproduction or overproduction of hormone or from a deficiency of iodine in the diet

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French goitre, back-formation from Old French goitron, throat, gullet, from Vulgar Latin *guttūriō, guttūriōn-, from Latin guttur.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French, either from Old French goitron (from Vulgar Latin *gutturio, from Latin guttur), or a back-formation from French goitreux ‘goitered’.

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Examples

  • Give me a saggy boob any day over some squinting Christian who says that your goiter is better and will be healed if you make out your check to CBN and mail it in today.

    Stand UP, Be Heard! 2004

  • Give me a saggy boob any day over some squinting Christian who says that your goiter is better and will be healed if you make out your check to CBN and mail it in today.

    February 2004 2004

  • A lack of iodine in the body will result in a condition known as a goiter where the thyroid gland in the neck becomes enlarged.

    Iodine 2007

  • The thyroid gland in the neck may also become enlarged, a condition known as goiter.

    THE NATURAL REMEDY BIBLE JOHN LUST 2003

  • Iodine in the diet helps prevent a swelling on the throat called goiter and other problems.

    Chapter 16 1997

  • A goiter is a swelling or big lump on the throat that results from abnormal growth of a gland called the thyroid.

    Chapter 18 1993

  • An enlarged thyroid gland is referred to as a goiter ( "throat" L).

    The Human Brain Asimov, Isaac 1963

  • Goiter is the most common disorder of the thyroid gland; though not very serious in minor cases, it is capable of becoming very dangerous, assuming such malignant forms as exophthalmic goiter, which is marked by palpitation of the heart, nervous symptoms and protrusion of the eyes.

    Vitality Supreme Bernarr Macfadden 1911

  • Las Meninas likely suffered from both a thyroid condition known as goiter and the genetic disorder linked to premature puberty, McCune-Albright syndrome.

    TIME.com: Top Stories 2010

  • The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include; rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, sudden weight loss, diarrhea, excessive sweating, increased hunger, fatigue, hair loss and swelling in the neck area just below the adam's apple, called a goiter or nodule (nodules are smaller, tumor type growths).

    BellaOnline - The Voice of Women 2009

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  • WORD: goiter

    DEFINITION: "Alternative spelling of goitre; n., an enlargement of the front and sides of the neck caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland." -- Wiktionary

    EXAMPLES:

    (1) " What's so surprising about goiter in the Alps. . .? "

    -- From Juvenal, The Satires -- Satire XIII.

    (2) " Under the title I intend placing as motto a verse from Juvenal: 'Who is surprised to see a goiter in the Alps? Quis tumidum guttur miratur in Alpibus?' I feel that this quotation strikes the keynote of the work. "

    -- Nathanael West, in his 1931 novel The Dream Life of Balso Snell (page 30).

    1931 NATHANAEL WEST The Dream Life of Balso Snell.

    (3) " I tend to think of human beings as huge, rubbery test tubes, . . . with chemical reactions seething inside. When I was a boy, I saw a lot of people with goiters. . . Those unhappy Earthlings had such swollen thyroid glands that they seemed to have zucchini squash growing from their throats.

    " All they had to do in order to have ordinary lives, it turned out, was to consume less than one-millionth of an ounce of iodine every day.

    " My own mother wrecked her brains with chemicals, which were supposed to make her sleep.

    " When I get depressed, I take a little pill, and I cheer up again.

    " And so on.

    " So it is a big temptation to me, when I create a character for a novel, to say that he is what he is because of faulty wiring, or because of microscopic amounts of chemicals which he ate or failed to eat on that particular day. "

    -- From Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel Breakfast of Champions -- Preface (page 4).

    1973 KURT VONNEGUT, JR. Breakfast of Champions, or, Goodbye Blue Monday.

    August 31, 2013

  • Zucchini squash is a tautology.

    Although squash zucchini might be an imperative.

    September 1, 2013