blackleg

[blak-leg]

noun

1. Also called black quarter. Also called symptomatic anthrax. Veterinary Pathology.,  an infectious, often fatal disease of cattle and sheep, caused by the soil bacterium Clostridium chauvoei and characterized by painful, gaseous swellings in the muscles, usually of the upper parts of the legs.

2. Plant Pathology.

   1. a disease of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, characterized by dry, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a fungus, Phoma lingam.

   2. a disease of potatoes, characterized by wet, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a bacterium, Erwinia atroseptica.

3. a swindler, especially in racing or gambling.

4. British Informal.,  a strikebreaker; scab.

verb (used with object)

British Informal.

blacklegged, blacklegging 

1. to replace (a worker) who is on strike.

2. to refuse to support (a union, union workers, or a strike).

3. to betray or deceive (a person or cause).

verb (used without object)

blacklegged, blacklegging 

1. British Informal.,  to return to work before a strike is settled.

blackleg

/ ˈblæklɛɡ /

noun

1. Also called: scab. 

   1. a person who acts against the interests of a trade union, as by continuing to work during a strike or taking over a striker's job

   2. ( as modifier )

      blackleg labour

2. Also called: black quarter. an acute infectious disease of cattle, sheep, and pigs, characterized by gas-filled swellings, esp on the legs, caused by Clostridium bacteria

3. plant pathol

   1. a fungal disease of cabbages and related plants caused by Phoma lingam , characterized by blackening and decay of the lower stems

   2. a similar disease of potatoes, caused by bacteria

4. a person who cheats in gambling, esp at cards or in racing

verb

1. to act against the interests of a trade union, esp by refusing to join a strike

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackleg¹

First recorded in 1715–25; black + leg; the origin of nonliteral senses is unclear; jackleg

Example Sentences

Anaplasmosis and Lyme disease are spread by western blacklegged ticks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the tick that experts warn of the most is a common blacklegged tick, which is found mainly in forests and spreads Lyme disease.

Read more on Seattle Times

The reason is simple: Though blacklegged ticks feed on rodents when young, the adult ticks often feed and find their mate on the hides of deer.

Read more on New York Times

For example, deer and rodent habitats are increasingly overlapping with human communities—and all three species are hosts for the blacklegged tick, also aptly named the deer tick.

Read more on Scientific American

Poppy-seed-size blacklegged ticks, which are also known as deer ticks and can transmit Lyme disease, can spread the disease to humans after feeding on infected mice.

Read more on New York Times