malaria

(mə ler′ē ə)

noun

Archaic unwholesome or poisonous air, as from marshy ground; miasma
Origin: from the former notion that it was caused by the bad air of swamps
an infectious disease, generally intermittent and recurrent, caused by any of various protozoans (genus Plasmodium) that are parasitic in the red blood corpuscles and are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito: it is characterized by severe chills and fever

Origin: It, contr. < mala aria, bad air: see mal- & aria

Related Forms:

See malaria in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

An infectious disease characterized by cycles of chills, fever, and sweating, caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium in red blood cells, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito.
Archaic Bad or foul air; miasma.

Origin:

Origin: Italian

Origin: , from mala aria, bad air

Origin: : mala

Origin: , feminine of malo, bad (from Latin malus; see mel-³ in Indo-European roots)

Origin: + aria, air (from Latin āēr, from Greek; see wer-¹ in Indo-European roots)

Related Forms: