typhous

Variant of typhus

typhus definition

ty·phus (tī′fəs)

noun

an acute infectious disease caused by various rickettsiae (esp. Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted to people by the bite of fleas, lice, etc., and characterized by fever, headache, and an eruption of red spots on the skin: in full typhus fever

Etymology: ModL < Gr typhos, vapor, fever, stupor, akin to typhein, to smoke, be cloudy < IE base *dheu-: see dull

Related Forms:

  • typhous ty′·phous (-fəs) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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