typhus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   any of a group of acute bacterial diseases caused by Rickettsia and spread by lice, fleas, or mites, typically producing high fever and a rash

   Overcrowding and body lice allowed typhus to spread rapidly through the camp.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Typhus dates from the mid-17th century and comes from Greek tuphos, meaning smoke or steam. The name refers to the fever's characteristic stupor, likened to the dazed condition associated with inhaling smoke.

From New Latin typhus, from Greek typhos, 'smoke, haze, fever, or stupor,' from typhein, 'to smoke.' The disease was named for the clouded mental state severe fever can produce. Despite the similar names, typhus and typhoid are different infections.

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External links

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• Wiktionary