scrof·u·la / ˈskrôfyələ/ • n. chiefly hist. a disease with glandular swellings, probably a form of tuberculosis. Also formerly called king's evil.DERIVATIVES: scrof·u·lous / -ləs/ adj.

scrofula (skrof-yoo-lă) n. tuberculosis of lymph nodes, usually those in the neck, causing the formation of abscesses. Treatment with antituberculous drugs is effective. The disease, which is now rare, most commonly affects young children.
—scrofulous adj.

scrofula disease characterized by degeneration of the lymphatic glands. XIV. In early use pl. after late L. scrōfulæ, dim. f. L. scrōfa breeding-sow (supposed to be subject to the disease); in sg. form XVIII.
Hence scrofulous XVII.