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Glite Dictionary
cerebrospinal fever

cerebrospinal fever

8.0
A serious bacterial infection that affects the coverings of the brain and spinal cord and often causes meningitis
  • noun
  • /ˌsɛrəbroʊˈspaɪnəl ˈfiːvər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : fiebre cerebroespinal
  • Early treatment is crucial for patients diagnosed with cerebrospinal fever.

Examples

  • In the past, cerebrospinal fever claimed many lives before antibiotics became widely available.

  • After an outbreak of cerebrospinal fever, the school was temporarily closed for deep cleaning.

  • The patient was diagnosed with cerebrospinal fever last week.

  • Doctors are concerned about the rise in cerebrospinal fevers in the region.

  • Early treatment is crucial for patients diagnosed with cerebrospinal fever.

  • After an outbreak of cerebrospinal fever, the school was temporarily closed for deep cleaning.

  • In the past, cerebrospinal fever claimed many lives before antibiotics became widely available.

Synonyms

meningitis
vscerebrospinal fever
  • Specialized
52 6.5

A serious infection that makes the thin layers around the brain and spinal cord swell and cause headache and fever

is specifically a bacterial infection of the membranes rather than including viral causes
brain fever
vscerebrospinal fever
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An old name for a serious infection of the brain or its lining

is the modern clinical term stressing bacterial infection and membrane inflammation risk
cerebrospinal meningitis
vscerebrospinal fever
  • Archaic
9.1

A serious infection caused by bacteria that makes the thin layers around the brain and spinal cord swell

is the same bacterial membrane infection but named as a feverish disease

Surface Forms

cerebrospinal fever singular
cerebrospinal fevers plural

Morphology

cerebrospinal + fever

The compound is compositionally built: 'cerebrospinal' specifies the brain-and-spinal-cord location and 'fever' names the symptom, so the overall meaning 'a fever affecting the brain and spinal cord' is directly derivable from the constituents. Although the term is clinical, its internal logic is transparent and predictable (and similar locative+symptom patterns exist cross-linguistically), so a learner who knows both words would understand the phrase.

Etymology

Cerebrospinal fever comes from the words cerebro- for the 'brain', spinal for the 'spine', and fever for a serious 'illness'. So the name points to an infection of the thin layers that cover the brain and spine, which is why it means that dangerous disease today.