Pathology. inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the respiratory tract, accompanied by excessive secretions.
Origin: 1350–1400;Middle English < Late Latincatarrhus < Greekkatárrous literally, down-flowing, equivalent to katarr(eîn) to flow down (kata-cata- + rheîn to flow) + -ous, variant of -eos (theme vowel + adj. suffix)
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
late 14c., from M.L. catarrus, from L.L. catarrhus, from Gk. katarrhous "a catarrh," lit. "a flowing down," from kata- "down" + rhein "to flow" (see rheum).