Definitions

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

  • noun A small oral mass of lymphoid tissue, especially either of two such masses embedded in the lateral walls of the opening between the mouth and the pharynx, of uncertain function, but believed to help protect the body from respiratory infections.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of two prominent oval bodies situated in the recesses formed, one on each side of the fauces, between the anterior and posterior palatine arches.
  • noun One of a pair of small superficial lobes of the cerebellum; the cerebellar amygdala. Also tonsilla in both senses.

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

  • noun (Anat.) One of the two glandular organs situated in the throat at the sides of the fauces. The tonsils are sometimes called the almonds, from their shape.

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

  • noun anatomy, immunology Either of a pair of small masses of lymphoid tissue that lie on each side of the throat and that help protect the body against infection; palatine tonsil.
  • noun anatomy, immunology Any of various small masses of lymphoid tissues, including palatine tonsils, adenoids and lingual tonsils.

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

  • noun either of two masses of lymphatic tissue one on each side of the oral pharynx

Etymologies

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

[From Latin tōnsillae, tonsils, diminutive of tōlēs, swollen tonsils.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin tonsilla, compare French tonsille.

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Examples

  • No longer; first base is today deep kissing, also known as tonsil hockey.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • No longer; first base is today deep kissing, also known as tonsil hockey.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • And indeed, as Dr. Mackenzie freely remarks: "Of far graver, far-reaching and deeper significance are cases of infection in which life has doubtless been sacrificed by clinging to the lazy and stupefying delusion that the tonsil is the sole portal of poisoning."

    Valere Aude Dare to Be Healthy, Or, The Light of Physical Regeneration Louis Dechmann

  • Between the plica triangularis and the surface of the tonsil is a space known as the tonsillar sinus; in many cases, however, this sinus is obliterated by its walls becoming adherent.

    XI. Splanchnology. 2b. The Fauces 1918

  • —The arteries supplying the tonsil are the dorsalis linguæ from the lingual, the ascending palatine and tonsillar from the external maxillary, the ascending pharyngeal from the external carotid, the descending palatine branch of the internal maxillary, and a twig from the small meningeal.

    XI. Splanchnology. 2b. The Fauces 1918

  • Tonsilloliths, also known as tonsil stones, are irregularly shaped, whitish/yellow, foul-smelling globs of mucus and bacteria that get caught in the back of the throat.

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2009

  • This new method, which is based on citraconic acid, has not been previously used in brain tissue although it has been employed in various other tissues such as tonsil, ovary, skin, lymph node, stomach, breast, colon, lung and thymus.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2008

  • This new method, which is based on the use of citraconic acid, has not been previously utilized in brain tissue although it has been employed in various other tissues such as tonsil, ovary, skin, lymph node, stomach, breast, colon, lung and thymus.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2008

  • This new method, which is based on citraconic acid, has not been previously used in brain tissue although it has been employed in various other tissues such as tonsil, ovary, skin, lymph node, stomach, breast, colon, lung and thymus.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2008

  • This new method, which is based on the use of citraconic acid, has not been previously utilized in brain tissue although it has been employed in various other tissues such as tonsil, ovary, skin, lymph node, stomach, breast, colon, lung and thymus.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2008

Comments

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  • Oy! Oy! A tonsil is not a yo-yo!

    October 18, 2008