malaria

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A serious disease spread by mosquito bites that causes fever and chills.

   Travellers to tropical regions often take tablets to protect against malaria.

Borrowed from Italian malaria, formed from mal- (“bad”) and aria (“air”). Introduced into English by the Scottish geologist John MacCulloch (1773–1835). Displaced native Old English unlyft (literally “bad air”).

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