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cholera
8 dictionary results for: Cholera
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
chol·er·a       [kol-er-uh] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Also called Asiatic cholera. Pathology. an acute, infectious disease, endemic in India and China and occasionally epidemic elsewhere, characterized by profuse diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, etc.
2.Veterinary Pathology. any of several diseases of domesticated animals that are characterized by depression, sleepiness, lack of appetite, and diarrhea.

[Origin: 1350–1400 for sense of choler (def. 2); 1565–75 for current senses; ME < L < Gk choléra name of several intestinal diseases]

—Related forms
chol·e·ra·ic       [kol-uh-rey-ik] Pronunciation Key, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
chol·er·a       (kŏl'ər-ə)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. An acute infectious disease of the small intestine, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, severe dehydration, and depletion of electrolytes. Also called Asiatic cholera.
  2. Any of various diseases of domesticated animals, such as chickens, turkeys, or hogs, marked by severe gastroenteritis.


[Latin, cholera, jaundice; see choler.]

chol'e·ra'ic (-ə-rā'ĭk) adj., chol'e·roid' (-ə-roid') adj.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cholera 
c.1386, "choler, bile, melancholy," from L. cholera, from Gk. kholera "a type of disease characterized by diarrhea, supposedly caused by choler" (Celsus), from khole "gall, bile," from khloazein "to be green," from khloros (see Chloe). But another sense of khole was "drainpipe, gutter." Revived 1565 as a name for a severe digestive disorder (rarely fatal to adults); and 1704 (especially as cholera morbus), for a highly lethal disease endemic in India, periodically breaking out in global epidemics.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
cholera

noun
an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cholera       (kŏl'ər-ə)  Pronunciation Key 
An infectious, sometimes fatal disease of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is spread from contaminated water and food and causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
cholera [(kol-uh-ruh)]

An acute disease, and an infectious disease, caused by a kind of bacterium that affects the intestines. Transmitted by food or water that has been contaminated with raw sewage, cholera is often fatal and is characterized by severe vomiting, diarrhea, and collapse.


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cholera chol·er·a (kŏl'ər-ə)
n.

  1. An acute epidemic infectious disease caused by Vibrio cholerae, characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, extreme loss of fluid and electrolytes, and prostration.
  2. Any of various diseases of domesticated animals marked by severe gastroenteritis.
chol'e·ra'ic (-ə-rā'ĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cholera

Chol"er*a\, n. [L., a bilious disease. See Choler.] (Med.) One of several diseases affecting the digestive and intestinal tract and more or less dangerous to life, esp. the one commonly called Asiatic cholera.

Asiatic cholera, a malignant and rapidly fatal disease, originating in Asia and frequently epidemic in the more filthy sections of other lands, to which the germ or specific poison may have been carried. It is characterized by diarrhea, rice-water evacuations, vomiting, cramps, pinched expression, and lividity, rapidly passing into a state of collapse, followed by death, or by a stage of reaction of fever.

Cholera bacillus. See Comma bacillus.

Cholera infantum, a dangerous summer disease, of infants, caused by hot weather, bad air, or poor milk, and especially fatal in large cities.

Cholera morbus, a disease characterized by vomiting and purging, with gripings and cramps, usually caused by imprudence in diet or by gastrointestinal disturbance.

Chicken cholera. See under Chicken.

Hog cholera. See under Hog.

Sporadic cholera, a disease somewhat resembling the Asiatic cholera, but originating where it occurs, and rarely becoming epidemic.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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