FES'TER, verb intransitive [Latin pestis, pus, or pustula.] To rankle; to corrupt; to grow virulent. We say of a sore or wound, it festers. Passion and unkindness may give a wound that shall bleed and smart; but it is treachery that makes it fester
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI