bluetongue

[ bloo-tuhng ]

/ ˈbluˌtʌŋ /

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noun Veterinary Pathology.

a viral disease of sheep and sometimes cattle, transmitted by biting insects and characterized by high fever, excessive salivation, swelling of the face and tongue, and cyanosis of the tongue.

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Also called catarrhal fever.

Origin of bluetongue

First recorded in 1860–65; blue + tongue

Words nearby bluetongue

“Blue-Tail Fly”, bluethroat, bluethroat pikeblenny, bluetick, blue tit, bluetongue, blue-tongued lizard, Bluetooth, blue vein, blue velvet, blue vitriol

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for bluetongue (1 of 2)

bluetongue¹

/ (ˌbluːˈtʌŋ) /

noun

an Australian lizard, Tiliqua scincoides, having a cobalt-blue tongue

British Dictionary definitions for bluetongue (2 of 2)

bluetongue²

/ (ˌbluːˈtʌŋ) /

noun

vet science a viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants transmitted by arthropods and characterized by reproductive problems or vasculitis. Sheep, which are most frequently affected, develop swelling of the face and a cyanotic tongue

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012