farmer's lung
- noun
- /ˈfɑrmərz lʌŋ/
- Specialized
:
pulmón del agricultor
- The doctor diagnosed him with farmer's lung after he developed persistent cough and shortness of breath.
Examples
-
Wearing a protective mask can help prevent farmer's lung among those working with hay and straw.
-
He was diagnosed with farmer's lung last year.
-
Repeated exposure to moldy hay can greatly increase the risk of farmer's lung.
-
Can farmer's lung be treated effectively?
-
Many agricultural workers develop farmer's lung after prolonged exposure to moldy hay.
-
He was diagnosed with farmer's lung due to the spores inhaled while working in the barn.
-
After years of handling damp crops, she started experiencing symptoms of farmer's lung.
Synonyms
2
8.9
A condition where infection, allergy or harmful fumes make the lungs swell
A lung disease caused by breathing dust from moldy hay
Inflammation of the tiny air sacs in the lungs often caused by breathing in dust
How Severe
- Specialized
1
4.4
3
3.4
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
3.5
21
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
farmer's + lung
The compound combines 'farmer's' (belonging to farmers) with 'lung', so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it denotes a lung condition associated with farmers. While the precise medical cause (allergic reaction to moldy hay spores) is specialized knowledge, the basic composition is fully transparent and conveys the general meaning to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Farmer's lung comes from a simple picture: a farmer breathing in dust and tiny mold spores from hay that hurt the lung. So the phrase means 'a lung illness caused by breathing moldy hay'.