diphtheria

CEFRB2

/dɪfˈθɪə.ɹi.ə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A serious bacterial disease affecting the throat and breathing.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

Examples

  • Diphtheria was a common disease at the time.

  • None of the family had been inoculated against diphtheria.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
2
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

More examples

In context

  • Today diphtheria has become so rare — just five cases in the United States in the most recent decade measured — that many doctors would struggle to recognize it.

Synonyms

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From French diphtérie (later for a while also spelled diphthérie) in 1857, which was coined in 1855 with the suffix -ie to replace -ite in the previous term diphtérite for the disease because it affects more than one part of the body. The previous term (later for a while also spelled diphthérite) was coined in 1817 by Pierre Bretonneau using Ancient Greek διφθέρα (diphthéra, “prepared hide, leather”) in reference to the tough membrane that forms in the throat. Bretonneau perhaps coined and used the Latin term diphtheritis (with its close imitation of Greek spelling typical of Neolatin) even earlier than the French term diphtérite, which follows the French habit of sometimes spelling t for t...