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Glite Dictionary
☠️ A deadly epidemic 🐄 A cattle disease
sweating sickness

sweating sickness

1 9.9
A deadly disease in the 15th and 16th centuries that caused sudden heavy sweating and many deaths
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : sudoración
  • The sweating sickness devastated communities in England during the 16th century.

Examples

  • The exact cause of sweating sickness remains a mystery to modern scientists.

  • Historians believe that sweating sickness first appeared in England in the late 15th century.

  • Many people feared the rapid spread of sweating sickness during outbreaks in Tudor times.

  • Many historians study the effects of sweating sickness on society.

  • In the 16th century, many people died from the sweating sickness due to its rapid onset and high mortality rate.

  • During the outbreak of sweating sickness, the streets were eerily quiet as people stayed indoors to avoid the disease.

  • Historical records indicate that the sweating sickness struck without warning, often killing its victims within days.

Synonyms

miliary fever
vssweating sickness
  • Archaic
9.9

A serious sickness in the 1500s that spread between people and caused heavy sweating and many deaths

is the same disease but its usual historical name rather than an obsolete label

Surface Forms

sweating sickness singular
sweating sicknesses plural

Morphology

sweating + sickness

The compound simply combines 'sweating' (excessive perspiration) with 'sickness' (illness), so its core meaning — an illness characterized by sweating — is directly derivable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows both words would grasp the general sense (even if they might not infer the cattle-specific usage), making the expression compositional and transparent.

Etymology

Sweating sickness may come from the terrible illness of the 15th and 16th centuries, when people suddenly had heavy sweating, felt very sick, and often died quickly. That's why the name refers to a fast, deadly disease.