an acute infectious disease caused by a bacterium and marked by fever and the formation of a false membrane, esp in the throat, causing difficulty in breathing
diphtherial adj
diphtheritic /dipthəʹritik, dif-/ adj
diphtheroid /ʹdipthəroyd, ʹdif-/ adj
[scientific Latin diphtheria via French from Greek diphthera leather; from the toughness of the false membrane]