What does cicatricle mean?
A cicatricle is a scar — particularly the small, permanent mark left on the skin where a vaccination was administered. Derived from the Latin word for scar, it belongs to a family of medical terms concerned with wound healing, alongside 'cicatrix' and 'cicatrize'. The word is rare today, surviving mostly in medical literature and historical accounts of smallpox and tuberculosis inoculation campaigns. For much of the twentieth century, a visible cicatricle on the upper arm functioned as informal evidence of vaccination, allowing physicians to verify immunization status without records. Though largely superseded by simpler vocabulary such as 'scar', the term remains useful in contexts demanding precision about healed tissue marks, and its distinctive sound and spelling give it a memorable, scholarly character that appeals to lovers of obscure but precise English words.
nounA scar or cicatrized mark on the skin; specifically, the small scar left by a vaccination.
- A scar or cicatrized mark on the skin.
- Specifically, the small permanent scar left at the site of a vaccination (especially smallpox or BCG).
"The old physician pointed to the faint cicatricle on her upper arm as evidence of a childhood smallpox vaccination."
"The nurse examined the cicatricle on his shoulder to confirm he had been vaccinated against smallpox."
"Years after the wound had healed, only a pale cicatricle remained where the incision had been made."
The plural follows the regular English pattern for nouns ending in -le.
"Both arms bore the cicaricles of repeated inoculations."
Before vaccine records went digital, doctors could read a person's immunization history right off their arm — in the form of a tiny scar called a cicatricle.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cicatricle
Cicatricle comes from the Latin 'cicatrix' (genitive 'cicatricis'), meaning the scar of a healed wound. It entered English via medical Latin, likely as a diminutive form of 'cicatrix' or through French 'cicatricule', in the early modern period when anatomical and surgical terminology was being codified. Its cognates include 'cicatrice' and the verb 'to cicatrize', all sharing the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How cicatricle is actually used
A rare, technical term found chiefly in medical and historical writing. It is most often encountered in discussions of smallpox and BCG vaccination scars, where the visible mark served as informal proof of immunization. In modern clinical language, 'cicatrix' or simply 'scar' is more common.
Easily confused with cicatricle
A particle is a minute fragment of matter, while a cicatricle is a scar or healed mark on the skin — the words merely share a superficial sound resemblance.