typhus fever
- noun
- /ˈtaɪfəs ˈfiːvər/
- Specialized
:
fiebre tifo
- After observing the symptoms, the doctor diagnosed him with typhus fever.
Examples
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During the 16th century, typhus fever was gradually distinguished from diseases with similar clinical manifestations as physicians learned to recognize typhus by its sudden onset and characteristic rash (5).
Academic text (2014) -
Typhus survivors in Mexico are at risk for relapsing typhus fever and are potential sources for typhus outbreaks.
Academic text (2014) -
Trench moans, gripped by typhus fever.
Fiction book (2002) -
Epidemic typhus was not precisely distinguished from typhus fever until 1836.
Academic text (2014) -
Tabardillo, or Mexican typhus fever, was considered a disease separate from epidemic typhus until Dr. Howard Ricketts and others in 1910 proved that the two diseases were identical.
Academic text (2014) -
If left untreated, typhus fever can lead to severe headaches and high fever.
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In crowded conditions, typhus fever can spread rapidly among vulnerable populations.
Synonyms
12
8.6
A serious disease spread by lice or fleas that causes high fever, headache, and a skin rash
A disease caused by bacteria spread by flea bites that causes fever and rash
An illness with fever and rash spread by fleas from rats or mice
A serious disease that causes fever and a rash when fleas spread bacteria to people
An illness spread by infected fleas that causes fever, chills, muscle aches, and a rash
An illness people get when ticks, mites, or lice spread tiny germs
An illness caused by bacteria spread by bites from ticks, mites, or lice
A disease people get when tiny animals called mites bite them that gives fever and a rash
An infection in Asia when bacteria from mite bites cause fever, rash, and sometimes serious problems
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'typhus' names a specific infectious disease and 'fever' indicates an elevated body temperature, so 'typhus fever' straightforwardly means the fever caused by typhus. This follows common medical compound-naming patterns (seen across many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The disease name typhus fever comes from the old word typhus, from Greek 'tuphos' meaning 'smoke' or 'stupor', because people with the illness became confused and felt 'in a fog'. That's why typhus fever now means a serious contagious illness with high fever and a rash that often spread fast in crowded places and by lice or fleas.