from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gout \Gout\ (gout), n. [F. goutte a drop, the gout, the disease
being considered as a defluxion, fr. L. gutta drop.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A drop; a clot or coagulation.
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On thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood. --Shak.
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2. (Med.) A constitutional disease, occurring by paroxysms.
It consists in an inflammation of the fibrous and
ligamentous parts of the joints, and almost always attacks
first the great toe, next the smaller joints, after which
it may attack the greater articulations. It is attended
with various sympathetic phenomena, particularly in the
digestive organs. It may also attack internal organs, as
the stomach, the intestines, etc. It is an inherited
disease of purine metaboism, which causes an increased
level of uric acid in the blood, and leads to deposition
of crystals of sodium urate in cartilage within joints and
in connective tissue. It can be alleviated by a diet low
in purines, and is treated by drugs which block formation
of uric acid. --Dunglison.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
3. A disease of cornstalks. See {Corn fly}, under {Corn}.
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{Gout stones}. See {Chalkstone}, n., 2.
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