erysipelas

[ er-uh-sip-uh-luhs, eer-uh- ]

noun
  1. Pathology. an acute, febrile infectious disease, caused by a specific streptococcus, characterized by diffusely spreading deep-red inflammation of the skin or mucous membranes.

  2. Also called swine erysipelas. Veterinary Pathology. a disease of swine, caused by the organism Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, characterized by urticaria, vegetative endocarditis, arthritis, and sometimes septicemia.

Origin of erysipelas

1
1350–1400; Middle English erisipila<Latin erysipelas<Greek, equivalent to erysi- (probably akin to erythrós red) + -pelas probably skin (akin to pélma sole of the foot; compare Latin pellis skin)

Other words from erysipelas

  • er·y·si·pel·a·tous [er-uh-si-pel-uh-tuhs, eer-], /ˌɛr ə sɪˈpɛl ə təs, ˌɪər-/, adjective
  • pseu·do·er·y·si·pel·a·tous, adjective

Words Nearby erysipelas

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use erysipelas in a sentence

  • He was threatened with erysipelas, and there was a rather critical inflammation of the left eye.

    Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
  • The small muscles of both his arms were ruptured, and a subsequent attack of erysipelas put his life in jeopardy.

  • Simple erysipelas only affects the surface, with redness and smarting.

  • Should erysipelas develop on a very young baby it is very important that he should be removed at once from the mother.

    The Mother and Her Child | William S. Sadler
  • erysipelas is a much-dreaded disease which is the result of infection with the blood-poisoning germ—streptococcus.

    The Mother and Her Child | William S. Sadler

British Dictionary definitions for erysipelas

erysipelas

/ (ˌɛrɪˈsɪpɪləs) /


noun
  1. an acute streptococcal infectious disease of the skin, characterized by fever, headache, vomiting, and purplish raised lesions, esp on the face: Also called: Saint Anthony's fire

Origin of erysipelas

1
C16: from Latin, from Greek erusipelas, from Greek erusi- red + -pelas skin

Derived forms of erysipelas

  • erysipelatous (ˌɛrɪsɪˈpɛlətəs), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012