| prison fever n. See typhus. [So called because it formerly prevailed in prisons.] |
ty·phus  (tī'fəs)  n. Any of several forms of infectious disease caused by rickettsia, especially those transmitted by fleas, lice, or mites, and characterized generally by severe headache, sustained high fever, depression, delirium, and the eruption of red rashes on the skin. Also called prison fever, ship fever, typhus fever. [New Latin tȳphus, from Greek tūphos, stupor arising from a fever, vapor, from tūphein, to smoke.] ty'phous (-fəs) adj. |
prison fever pris·on fever (prĭz'ən)
n.
See typhus.