kala-azar

[ kah-lah-ah-zahr, kah-luh-az-er ]

nounPathology.
  1. a chronic, usually fatal disease occurring in tropical areas of Asia and the Western Hemisphere, characterized by irregular fever, enlargement of the spleen, anemia, and emaciation, caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani.

Origin of kala-azar

1
1880–85; <Hindi, equivalent to kālā black + Persian āzār disease
  • Also called Dumdum fever, visceral leishmaniasis.

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

How to use kala-azar in a sentence

  • It is commonly known as "kala-azar," or "dum-dum" fever, and more technically as tropical leishmaniasis.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology | William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for kala-azar

kala-azar

/ (ˌkɑːləəˈzɑː) /


noun
  1. a tropical infectious disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani in the liver, spleen, etc, characterized by fever and weight loss; visceral leishmaniasis

Origin of kala-azar

1
from Assamese kālā black + āzār disease

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