calenture

American  

[kal-uhn-cher, -choor] / ˈkæl ən tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər /

noun

1. Pathology. a violent fever with delirium, affecting persons in the tropics.

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calenture British  

/ ˈkælənˌtjʊə /

noun

1. a mild fever of tropical climates, similar in its symptoms to sunstroke

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Other Word Forms

• calentural adjective
• calenturish adjective

Etymology

Origin of calenture

1585–95; earlier calentura < Spanish: fever, equivalent to calent ( ar ) to heat (< Latin calent-, stem of calēns, present participle of calēre to be hot) + -ura -ure

Example Sentences

And for that lethargy was there no cure, But to be cast into a calenture?

From Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham by Denham, John, Sir

But who will judge a man's constitution by the symptoms of calenture?

From St George's Cross by Keene, H. G. (Henry George)

A calenture is a form of fever at sea in which the sufferer believes himself to be surrounded by green fields, and often leaps overboard.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 6 Letters 1821-1842 by Lamb, Mary

But in this voyage I was extremely sick, being thrown into a violent calenture through the excessive heat, trading upon the coast from the latitude of fifteen degrees north, even to the line itself.

From The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801) by Defoe, Daniel

This day likewise, I had a stroke of the sun, which occasioned a burning fever or calenture.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 04 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

Related Words

• force
• heat
• light