- canker of the mouth
- Canker Can"ker (k[a^][ng]"k[~e]r), n. [OE. canker, cancre, AS.
cancer (akin to D. kanker, OHG chanchar.), fr. L. cancer a
cancer; or if a native word, cf. Gr. ? excrescence on tree, ?
gangrene. Cf. also OF. cancre, F. chancere, fr. L. cancer.
See {cancer}, and cf. {Chancre}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A corroding or sloughing ulcer; esp. a spreading
gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the
mouth; -- called also {water canker}, {canker of the
mouth}, and {noma}.
[1913 Webster]
2. Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroy. [1913 Webster]
The cankers of envy and faction. --Temple. [1913 Webster]
3. (Hort.) A disease incident to trees, causing the bark to rot and fall off. [1913 Webster]
4. (Far.) An obstinate and often incurable disease of a horse's foot, characterized by separation of the horny portion and the development of fungoid growths; -- usually resulting from neglected thrush. [1913 Webster]
5. A kind of wild, worthless rose; the dog-rose. [1913 Webster]
To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose. And plant this thorm, this canker, Bolingbroke. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
{Black canker}. See under {Black}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.