German measles

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. rubella.

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German measles British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) a nontechnical name for rubella

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German measles Scientific  

/ jûr′mən /

1. An infectious disease caused by the rubella virus of the genus Rubivirus, characterized by mild fever and skin rash. German measles can cause congenital defects if a woman is exposed during early pregnancy.

2. Also called rubella

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German measles Cultural  

1. An acute and contagious disease, caused by a virus, producing symptoms milder than those usually associated with measles.

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German measles can cause severe congenital defects in the developing embryo or fetus of a woman who contracts the disease in her first three months of pregnancy.

Etymology

Origin of German measles

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Two more children swiftly followed: Lady Helen and Lord Nicholas Windsor - but, in 1975, Katharine caught German measles during her fourth pregnancy.

From BBC • Sep. 5, 2025

Rubella, also known as German measles because German scientists classified it in the 19th century, is a moderate illness for most patients, identified by a spotty and often itchy red rash.

From New York Times • May 21, 2024

And in 1970, an astronaut was yanked from Apollo 13 shortly before launch after being exposed to German measles.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2021

Bristling, a student from Bremen said “What is this German measles? There is nothing German about it!”

From Scientific American • Aug. 11, 2021

The rash of measles cannot be confounded with that of scarlatina, and the distinctly spotty character of the rash of German measles ought, apart even from other differences, to render mistake impossible.

From The Mother's Manual of Children's Diseases by West, Charles