Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Abscess \Ab"scess\, n.; pl. {Abscesses}. [L. abscessus a going
   away, gathering of humors, abscess, fr. abscessus, p. p. of
   absedere to go away; ab, abs + cedere to go off, retire. See
   {Cede}.] (Med.)
   A collection of pus or purulent matter in any tissue or organ
   of the body, the result of a morbid process.

   {Cold abscess}, an abscess of slow formation, unattended with
      the pain and heat characteristic of ordinary abscesses,
      and lasting for years without exhibiting any tendency
      towards healing; a chronic abscess.