variole rare.
(ˈvɛərɪəʊl)
[ad. med.L. variola variola.]
Something resembling a smallpox marking or pustule in appearance or formation: a. Ent. A foveole or small fovea.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. xlvi. 270 Variole,..a shallow impression like a mark of the small-pox. |
b. Geol. A spherular concretion of a variolite.
| 1890 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XLVI. 312 The spherulites or ‘varioles’ [of the variolite-diabase] are grouped or drawn out in bands parallel to the surface. |