cholera morbus
- noun
- /ˈkɒlərə ˈmɔrbəs/
- Archaic
- The patient was admitted with classic symptoms of cholera morbus, including severe vomiting and abdominal cramps.
Examples
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The doctor diagnosed her with cholera morbus after examining her symptoms.
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In the 19th century, outbreaks of cholera morbus caused widespread fear in urban areas.
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Before modern medicine, cholera morbus was often mistaken for other deadly diseases.
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Many people suffered from cholera morbus during the outbreak last summer.
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The patient was admitted with classic symptoms of cholera morbus, including severe vomiting and abdominal cramps.
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In the 19th century, outbreaks of cholera morbus caused widespread fear in urban areas.
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Many people suffered from cholera morbus during the outbreak last summer.
Synonyms
An illness that makes the stomach and intestines sore and causes vomiting and diarrhea
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'cholera' names an infectious diarrheal illness and 'morbus' is a medical term for a disease, so together they indicate a disease characterized by cholera-like gastroenteritis. Although the form is Latin and somewhat technical/archaic, the overall meaning is predictable from the constituent parts for a learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Cholera morbus comes from old medical Latin and literally names a severe stomach disease: cholera suggested a 'flow' of fluids and morbus meant 'disease'. So the term was used for sudden vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain, and that's why it means a serious stomach illness today.