A contagious viral disease that causes the salivary glands to swell painfully, usually occurring in children, though preventable by vaccination.
From 'mump' meaning to grimace or sulk (from 17th century), referring to the puffy-cheeked appearance caused by swollen glands; 'mumps' uses the plural suffix despite being a single disease.
Before the MMR vaccine (1971), mumps infected 90% of children and was a leading cause of deafness and infertility—it's one of the greatest disease victories in medical history, yet it's making a comeback in areas with low vaccination rates!
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