dysentery

[dis-uh n-ter-ee] /ˈdɪs ənˌtɛr i/

noun

Pathology. an infectious disease marked by inflammation and ulceration of the lower part of the bowels, with diarrhea that becomes mucous and hemorrhagic.

diarrhea.

Origin

1350-1400; < Medieval Latin dysenteria < Greek, equivalent to dysénter(a) bad bowels (see dys-, enteron) + -ia -ia; replacing Middle English dissenterie < Old French

Related forms

dysenteric, adjective

postdysenteric, adjective

Examples from the web for dysentery

The ships were incubators for typhus, dysentery and cholera.
It was an apt title for an era when amoebic dysentery was considered the good kind of dysentery.
Among human inhabitants on the Yangtze basin, dysentery and intestinal cancers are already epidemic.
By that time the general had become wracked with dysentery.
She lost 20 pounds in a week from dysentery in Mexico.
Additional diseases caused by the presence of bacteria and viruses in the ocean can include cholera, dysentery and skin rashes.
Most died of starvation, exhaustion and diseases such as typhus and dysentery.
Half of the men have dysentery.
One year later, with dysentery a mere memory, I'm ready to make the trip again.
As a prisoner, he watched other boys die of dysentery and starvation.

British Dictionary definitions for dysentery

dysentery

/ˈdɪsəntrɪ/

noun

infection of the intestine with bacteria or amoebae, marked chiefly by severe diarrhoea with the passage of mucus and blood

Derived Forms

dysenteric (ˌdɪsənˈtɛrɪk) adjective

Word Origin

C14: via Latin from Greek dusenteria, from dusentera, literally: bad bowels, from dys- + enteron intestine

Word Origin and History for dysentery

late 14c., dissenterie, from Old French disentere (13c.), from Latin dysenteria, from Greek dysenteria, coined by Hippocrates, from dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + entera "intestines, bowels" (see inter-). Related: Dysenteric.

dysentery in Medicine

dysentery dys·en·ter·y (dĭs'ən-těr'ē)
n.
An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.

dys'en·ter'ic adj.

dysentery in Science

dysentery

(dĭs'ən-těr'ē)
A gastrointestinal disease characterized by severe, often bloody diarrhea, usually caused by infection with bacteria or parasites.

dysentery in Culture

dysentery [(dis-uhn-ter-ee)]

A painful disease of the intestines characterized by inflammation and diarrhea. Dysentery may be caused by bacteria or viruses, or may occur as the result of infestation by an amoeba.

Note: Dysentery can be transmitted by contact with water or food that has been contaminated by human waste. Public health and sanitation procedures in developed countries, however, have largely eliminated this means of transmission.