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7 dictionary results for: Rickets
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
rick·ets 
[rik-its] Pronunciation Key
[rik-its] Pronunciation Key –noun Pathology.
| a disease of childhood, characterized by softening of the bones as a result of inadequate intake of vitamin D and insufficient exposure to sunlight, also associated with impaired calcium and phosphorus metabolism. |
[Origin: 1635–45; orig. uncert.]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| rick·ets
(rĭk'ĭts) Pronunciation Key
n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A deficiency disease resulting from a lack of vitamin D or calcium and from insufficient exposure to sunlight, characterized by defective bone growth and occurring chiefly in children. Also called rachitis. [Origin unknown.] |
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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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rickets
rickets
1634, of uncertain origin. Originally a local name for the disease in Dorset and Somerset, England. Some derive it from a Dorset word, rucket "to breathe with difficulty," but the sense connection is difficult. The Mod.L. name for the disease, rachitis, comes from Late Gk. rhachitis "inflammation of the spine," from Gk. rhakhis "spine," but this was chosen by Whistler for resemblance to rickets. Rickety "liable to fall down" (1685) is from rickets via notion of "weak, unhealthy," but has rarely been used in its literal sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| rickets | |
noun | |
| childhood disease caused by deficiency of vitamin D and sunlight associated with impaired metabolism of calcium and phosphorus |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| rickets
(rĭk'ĭts) Pronunciation Key
A bone disease seen mostly in children, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, usually as a result of inadequate dietary intake or lack of exposure to sunlight. This deficiency causes decreased calcium absorption from the intestine and abnormalities in formation and mineralization of skeletal bone, resulting in defective bone growth and deformity.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rickets rick·ets (rĭk'ĭts)
n.
A deficiency disease resulting from a lack of vitamin D or calcium and from insufficient exposure to sunlight, characterized by defective bone growth and occurring chiefly in children. Also called infantile osteomalacia, juvenile osteomalacia, rachitis.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Rickets
Rick"ets\, n. pl. [Of uncertain origin; but cf. AS. wrigian to bend, D. wrikken to shake, E. wriggle.] (Med.) A disease which affects children, and which is characterized by a bulky head, crooked spine and limbs, depressed ribs, enlarged and spongy articular epiphyses, tumid abdomen, and short stature, together with clear and often premature mental faculties. The essential cause of the disease appears to be the nondeposition of earthy salts in the osteoid tissues. Children afflicted with this malady stand and walk unsteadily. Called also rachitis.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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