Typhus is a serious infectious disease that produces spots on the skin, a high fever, and a severe headache.
typhus in British English
(ˈtaɪfəs)
noun
any one of a group of acute infectious rickettsial diseases characterized by high fever, skin rash, and severe headache
Also called: typhus fever
Derived forms
typhous (ˈtyphous)
adjective
Word origin
C18: from New Latin tӯphus, from Greek tuphos fever; related to tuphein to smoke
typhus in American English
(ˈtaɪfəs)
noun
an acute infectious disease caused by various rickettsiae (esp. Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted to people by the bite of fleas, lice, etc., and characterized by fever, headache, and an eruption of red spots on the skin
in full typhus fever
Derived forms
typhous (ˈtyphous) (ˈtaɪfəs)
adjective
Word origin
ModL < Gr typhos, vapor, fever, stupor, akin to typhein, to smoke, be cloudy < IE base *dheu-: see dull
Examples of 'typhus' in a sentence
typhus
Because there was now no proper water supply, typhus lurked always.