Definitions

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

  • noun A pathological accumulation of serous fluid in a bodily cavity, especially in the scrotal pouch.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In pathology, a collection of serous fluid in the cavity of the tunica vaginalis of the testis.
  • noun In embryology, the portion of the left enterocœlic sac which in echinoderms gives rise to the radial vessels and the ring-vessel of the ambulacral system.

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

  • noun (Med.) A collection of serous fluid in the areolar texture of the scrotum or in the coverings, especially in the serous sac, investing the testicle or the spermatic cord; dropsy of the testicle.

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

  • noun An abnormal build-up of fluids at a site in the body, especially in the membranes around a testicle.

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

  • noun disorder in which serous fluid accumulates in a body sac (especially in the scrotum)

Etymologies

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

[Latin hydrocēlē, from Greek hudrokēlē : hudro-, hydro- + kēlē, tumor; see –cele.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French hydrocèle or Latin hydrocele, from Greek ὑδροκήλη, from ὑδρο- ‘water’ + κήλη ‘tumour’.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "... when he returned from seeing Dr Redfern back to the hospital and giving his opinion on a hydrocele he said to Jack... 'How very well that went off—a most successful dinner.'"

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Nutmeg of Consolation, 361

    March 9, 2008