vaccine
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vaccine¹
- /vækˈsin/ US
- /ˈvækˌsin/ US
Rhymes with -iːn, -ɪn
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Latin vaccīnus (“of or derived from a cow”), from vacca (“cow (female cattle)”) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Sense 1 refers to the early use of the cowpox virus as a vaccination against smallpox: see New Latin variolae vaccīnae (“cowpox”, plural, literally “infectious diseases of cattle causing pustules”), coined by the British physician and scientist Edward Jenner (1749–1823).
adjective
- Of, pertaining to, caused by, or characteristic of cowpox.
- Of or pertaining to cowpox as a source of material for vaccination against smallpox; also, of or pertaining to such material used for vaccination. I will call upon them: they are healthy children, we can have the vaccine infection from them, and I will inoculate the boy myself.
-
Of, pertaining to, or derived from cattle.
[M]y play could not have been written but for the work done by Sir Almroth Wright in the theory and practice of securing immunization from bacterial diseases by the inoculation of "vaccines" made of their own bacteria: a practice incorrectly called vaccinetherapy (there is nothing vaccine about it)
Similar: bovine
vaccine²
- /vækˈsin/ US
- /ˈvækˌsin/ US
Rhymes with (GA) -iːn
Where it comes from
The noun is probably partly:
* derived from vaccine (adjective) (see etymology 1); and
* borrowed from French vaccine (“cowpox (short for variole vaccine); vaccination against smallpox using material from cowpox”), vaccin (“cowpox material used for smallpox vaccination”), both noun uses of vaccin (adjective), from Latin vaccīnus (see etymology 1).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian vaccina
* Portuguese vacina
* Spanish vacuna
noun vaccines
- A substance given to stimulate a body's production of antibodies and provide immunity against a disease without causing the disease itself in the treatment, prepared from the agent that causes the disease (or a derivative of it; or a related, also effective, but safer disease), or a synthetic substitute; also, a dose of such a substance. I am much inclined to the vaccine. My friend, Mr. L—, has had all his children vaccined, and I just wait to see the effect.
- The process of vaccination; immunization, inoculation. My dog has had two vaccines this year.
- The material taken from cowpox pustules used for vaccination against smallpox.
- The disease cowpox, especially as a source of material for vaccination against smallpox.
- Something defensive or protective in nature, like a vaccine (sense 1.1).
- A software program which protects computers against, or detects and neutralizes, computer viruses and other types of malware; an antivirus.
verb vaccines · vaccining · vaccined
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: inoculation, immunization, vaccinated, immunisation, immunizing, vaccination, serum, hpv, vaccinia, flu, drug, womb, uterus, bcg, buffalo, shot
Translations
Every language
adj of, pertaining to, caused by, or characteristic of cowpox
| Português | vacínico |
|---|
adj of or pertaining to cowpox as a source of material for vaccination against smallpox; of or pertaining to such material used for vaccination
| Português | vacínico |
|---|
noun substance given to stimulate a body’s production of antibodies and provide immunity against a disease
| Español | vacuna, linfa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 백신 baeksin, 두묘 dumyo |
| 日本語 | ワクチン wakuchin, 痘苗 tōbyō |
| 中文 | 疫苗 yìmiáo |
| हिन्दी | वैक्सीन vaiksīn, टीका ṭīkā |
| Kiswahili | chanjo, dawa ya chanjo |
| Português | vacina |
| Français | vaccin |
| Deutsch | Vakzin, Vakzine, Impfstoff |
| Italiano | vaccino |
| Ελληνικά | εμβόλιο emvólio |
| Română | vaccin |
| Русский | вакци́на vakcína, приви́вка privívka |
| Tiếng Việt | vắc-xin, chủng ngừa, kháng nguyên |
| العربية | لَقَاح laqāḥ, طُعْم ṭuʕm |
| עברית | חִסּוּן, חיסון khisún |
Talk about this word "vaccine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/vaccine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. vaccine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/vaccine "vaccine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/vaccine.Cite this
@misc{vaccine_2026,
title = {vaccine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/vaccine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
