vacuna
vaccine
noun bah-KOO-nah Rare
Origin: Latin vaccinus (of a cow), from Edward Jenner's cowpox experiments
Also means
vaccination
Usage Note
Vacuna derives from Latin vaccinus (of a cow) because Edward Jenner used cowpox (vacca = cow) for the first vaccine. In Spanish, both the preparation (la vacuna) and the act (poner una vacuna) use the same noun. The verb is vacunar; getting vaccinated is vacunarse. Do not confuse with vaca (cow), though they share the Latin root.
Examples
"La vacuna contra la gripe ya está disponible."
Natural Translation
The flu vaccine is already available.
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