pink eye1
/ˈpɪŋk ʌɪ
/noun [mass noun]
1Conjunctivitis in humans and some livestock.The daycare has gently reminded me that pink eye is a stay-at-home-sickness which usually lasts about a week....
- By her own admission, she's already given everyone pink eye.
- Touching your eye with germy fingers is a great way to get a cold or nasty eye infection such as pink eye.
2A viral disease of horses, symptoms of which include fever, abortion, and redness of the eyes.
- The virus belongs to the genus Arterivirus.
- The medicine is successfully used with quick healing results for Pink Eye and conjunctivitis in horses and cattle.
- Pink eye in horses is more serious than in humans and can easily lead to blindness.
pink-eye2
(also pink-hi)
noun Australian
1A journey undertaken by an Aborigine in order to withdraw temporarily from white society and return to a more traditional lifestyle: they had quit their station jobs, and had gone on a hunting walkabout and a pink-eye...
- I discovered that the blacks insisted on a "pink-hi" or walkabout season - they could not live without it.
1.1(In extended use) a holiday or festivity: this year picnic was obviously going to be a successful pink-eye...
- Pearlers crowd away for a holiday — known as a 'pink-eye' in nor-west slang.
- I heard it was quite a pink-eye.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Aboriginal pinkayi, from pinka 'hunting'.