Fever Meaning
/ˈfiːvə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.
nounAny of various diseases.
Sentence Examples
You have a little fever today, don't you?
My forehead burned with fever.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sick child's high ____ worried the doctor very much.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a high ____ and a persistent cough, so he decided to see a doctor.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English fever, fevere, from Old English fefer, fefor (“fever”) and Old French fievre (“fever”), from Latin febris (“a fever”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”). Displaced native Old English hriþ (“fever”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Fiewer, German Fieber, Danish feber, Swedish feber.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Proper nutrition – and even more important, proper hydration – is crucial in preventing and recovering from both fevers and colds. […] As Abramson explained, when we are sick, whether we have a fever or not, our metabolic rates skyrocket, and our bodies need more calories to support that high metabolic rate."
— 2016 September 16, Hailey Middlebrook, “Should you really feed a cold and starve a fever?”, in CNN:
"an envious fever"
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
"There is little doubt that while war fever has not gripped Taipei, its economic foundations are being shaken. The stock market rose yesterday, but only because the Government has pumped $1.5 billion (£1 billion) into it after $370 million was drained from banks, and stocks were sold by investors who are worried by the Chinese manoeuvres."
— 1996 March 15, Jonathan Mirsky, “Taiwan President visits islanders to bolster morale”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 15, column 3:
"On the way back to the mainland the boat passed over a fever of stingrays, and the sight of them through the glass was enough to colour everything else, and outstrip it."
— 2011, Julianne Schultz, editor, Griffith REVIEW 34: The Annual Fiction Edition:
"They move like thoughts, like memory, like a Wes Anderson diorama of earthly delights: lionfish, an albacore, a fever of stingrays—and then like a wound, a sea turtle at eye level."
— 2020, Lindsay Illich, “sea turtle”, in rile & heave (everything reminds me of you): Poems:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sick child's high ____ worried the doctor very much.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a high ____ and a persistent cough, so he decided to see a doctor.