Definition

1. Noun (Medicine):

   • A skin disease: Refers to a contagious fungal skin infection, often ringworm or tinea.
   • Sedge / Rush: A type of plant (genus Cyperus, especially Cyperus malaccensis) whose stems are used to make mats and baskets.

2. Adjective:

   • Squinting / Cross-eyed: Describes eyes where the pupils are misaligned and point in different directions, a condition known as strabismus.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Skin disease):
  • Anh ấy bị lác ở lưng. (He has a fungal skin infection on his back.)
• Noun (Plant):
  • Chiếu được đan từ cây lác. (The mat is woven from sedge.)
• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ bị mắt lác. (The child has a squint. / The child is cross-eyed.)
  • Cô ấy nhìn lác một bên. (She has a squint in one eye.)

Advanced Usage

• The noun meaning "skin disease" is often used in specific compound terms in folk medicine or everyday speech.
• The adjective "lác" is a common, direct description. The formal medical term for the condition is "lé" or "mắt lé."

Variants and Related Words

• Hắc lào (n): A more specific term for ringworm (tinea corporis), a type of fungal skin infection.
  • Bác sĩ chẩn đoán bệnh nhân bị hắc lào. (The doctor diagnosed the patient with ringworm.)
• Lé (adj): Synonymous with "lác" for squinting, often used interchangeably.
  • Mắt nó hơi lé. (His/her eyes are slightly crossed.)
• Strabismus (n): The formal medical term for the misalignment of the eyes.
• Chiếu lác (n): A mat woven from sedge/rush plants.

Synonyms

• For skin disease: ringworm, tinea.
• For plant: sedge, rush.
• For eyes: squinting, cross-eyed, strabismic.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Giấu đầu hở đuôi như mắt lác: (To hide the head but show the tail, like a squinting eye) – An idiom meaning a poor attempt at hiding something, where the truth is still partially visible.
  • Lời nói dối của nó như mắt lác, dễ dàng bị phát hiện. (His lie was like a squinting eye, easily discovered.)

noun

1. (y học) dartre. rush
   • chiếu lác
     rush-mat

adj

1. squinting
   • mắt lác
     to have squinting eyes