nonvesicular
|non-ves-i-cu-lar|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnˈvɛsɪkjələr/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnˈvɛsɪkjʊlə/
not having small sacs/blisters or bubbles
Etymology
'nonvesicular' originates from the English prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non') meaning 'not' combined with 'vesicle', which comes from Latin 'vesicula' meaning 'little bladder' or 'small sac'.
'vesicle' comes from Latin 'vesicula' (a diminutive of Latin 'vesica' meaning 'bladder'), passed into Medieval/Old French and Medieval Latin and then into Middle English as 'vesicle'. The modern English compound 'nonvesicular' is formed by adding the English prefix 'non-' to 'vesicular'.
Originally 'vesicula' meant 'little bladder' (a small sac). Over time 'vesicle' came to mean any small fluid-filled sac or bubble in anatomy, dermatology, biology, and geology. 'Nonvesicular' thus evolved to mean 'not having such sacs or bubbles'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not forming or containing vesicles (small fluid-filled blisters); lacking vesicles — used in dermatology to describe rashes or lesions that do not produce vesicles.
The patient's rash was nonvesicular, with flat red patches rather than blisters.
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Adjective 2
lacking vesicles or gas bubbles — used in geology and petrology to describe igneous rocks or volcanic glass that do not contain vesicular cavities.
The basalt sample was largely nonvesicular, showing no evidence of gas bubbles.
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Last updated: 2025/10/11 18:08