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Glite Dictionary
📅 Every fourth day 🤒 A four-day fever
quartan

quartan

9.9
A type of malaria with fever every fourth day
  • noun
  • /ˈkwɔrtən/
  • Archaic
: cuartana
  • The patient suffered repeated bouts of quartan throughout the rainy season.

Examples

  • Historically, quartan was common in regions plagued by certain types of mosquitoes.

  • The patient suffered from quartan fever for weeks.

  • Doctors identified the illness as quartan malaria after observing the four-day cycle of fever.

  • Doctors diagnosed her with quartan malaria.

  • Doctors identified the illness as quartan malaria after observing the four-day cycle of fever.

  • The patient suffered repeated bouts of quartan malaria during his stay in the tropical region.

  • Travelers to endemic areas should be aware of the risk of quartan malaria when planning their trips.

Surface Forms

quartan singular
quartans plural

Morphology

quartan = quart (semi-transparent) = quart + an

The word is built from the element meaning 'fourth' (quart) plus the Latinate adjectival suffix '-an'; the numerical relation is etymologically clear but not obvious to average learners unfamiliar with Latinate number roots.

Etymology

Quartan comes from the Latin quartus meaning 'fourth', the same root you see in quarter and quart. So a quartan fever is called that because its attacks come back every fourth day.