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cholera Definition

chol·era (kälər ə)

noun

any of various intestinal diseases; specif., an acute, severe, infectious disease (Asiatic cholera) common in Asia, caused by bacteria (Vibrio cholerae) and characterized by profuse diarrhea, intestinal pain, and dehydration

Etymology: L, jaundice < Gr, cholera, nausea < cholē, gall bile < IE base *ĝhel- > yellow

Related Forms:

  • choleraic chol′·era′ic (-ə rāik) adjective
cholera Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • plague: These include plague, cholera, diphtheria, yellow fever, dengue and TB.
  • catch: At least half of those who caught cholera died.
  • cause: At the time doctors were not sure exactly what caused cholera.
  • include: This can lead to all kinds of diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera.
  • get: Sheets soaked with chloride of lime were hung at the windows of the House of Commons to prevent MPs getting cholera.
  • have: She has asthma and in 1955 had cholera which delayed growth.

Preposition: in

  • city: In the summer of 1849, there was a major outbreak of cholera in the city.
  • century: The site provides an interesting insight into the work of John Snow and the history of cholera in nineteenth century London.
  • area: He then went on to compare the death rates from cholera in the two areas.

Adjective modifier

  • Asiatic: An epidemic of Asiatic cholera claimed over 4,000 lives.
  • English: The death certificate gave the cause of death as English cholera and her age as 27.

Modifies a noun

  • epidemic: The kids died of a cholera epidemic which swept through the town.
  • toxin: The exposure caused greater antibody production than did cholera toxin.
  • outbreak: They also suffered badly from a cholera outbreak in 1849.
  • vaccination: The appropriateness of cholera vaccination apart from the above is a matter for the individual to discuss with their doctor.
  • vaccine: One example is a banana with the genes to produce cholera vaccine.
  • bacterium: Leaving the cholera bacteria in the open must have weakened them in some way.

Noun used with modifier

  • fowl: Artificial insemination spreads fowl cholera, a major bacterial disease of intensively reared turkeys.
  • chicken: No, the Australians didn't believe the chicken cholera would work.
  • disease: But there was worse to come, that dreaded disease cholera broke out in the camp.