sweating sickness
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A historical epidemic disease: "sweating sickness" refers to a highly contagious and often fatal disease that occurred in outbreaks, primarily in England and parts of Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. Its defining symptom was severe, profuse sweating.
- A disease of livestock: In veterinary medicine, "sweating sickness" also names a specific, tick-borne disease affecting cattle, characterized by fever, sweating, and other systemic symptoms.
Usage Examples
Noun (Historical Disease):
- The sweating sickness terrified the population with its sudden onset and high mortality.
- Historical records describe the rapid spread of sweating sickness through towns.
Noun (Veterinary Disease):
- The farmer quarantined the herd after a case of sweating sickness was confirmed.
- Calves are particularly susceptible to sweating sickness.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in historical contexts to discuss medieval and early modern medicine and societal impact.
- In veterinary contexts, it is a technical term for a specific condition distinct from other bovine illnesses.
Variants and Related Words
- The Sweat: A colloquial historical name for the same epidemic disease.
- English Sweat: Another name used historically to specify the epidemic's association with England.
- Epizootic: (adj/n) Referring to a disease outbreak in an animal population, which can describe the veterinary form of sweating sickness.
Synonyms
- Historical context: The Sweat, English Sweat.
- Veterinary context: Bovine ephemeral fever (Note: This is a similar but distinct condition; it is a near-synonym in general description but not a precise medical synonym).
Related Phrases
- To break out in a sweat: This common phrase describing sudden sweating is linguistically related but not specific to the disease.
- Sudorific: (adj) Causing or inducing sweat, a term that describes a key symptom of the sickness.
Noun
- epidemic in the 15th and 16th centuries and characterized by profuse sweating and high mortality
- a disease of cattle (especially calves)