pock
UK[pɒk]US[pɑːk]
n
A small pus-filled swelling on the skin, especially one characteristic of chickenpox or smallpox.
n
A pitted scar or mark on the skin left by such a swelling.
Etymology
The word 'pock' has a direct lineage from Old English 'pocc', meaning a pustule or ulcer. This term is part of a wider Germanic family, related to Middle Dutch 'pocke' and German 'Pocke'. Its ultimate origin is likely imitative or expressive, possibly echoing the idea of a swelling or a burst. From this concrete medical term for a skin lesion, the meaning naturally extended to include the permanent scar such a lesion leaves behind, a sense fully established in Middle English.
Analysis
The word 'pock' is a simplex word of Germanic origin. It functions as a base noun.
Examples
The child's face was covered in pocks from the chickenpox.
Smallpox often left survivors with deep pocks on their skin.
The old statue's surface was pocked and weathered by centuries of exposure.