cholera

[ kol-er-uh ]

/ ˈkɒl ər ə /

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noun

Also called Asiatic cholera .Pathology. an acute, infectious disease, endemic in India and China and occasionally epidemic elsewhere, characterized by profuse diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, etc.

Veterinary Pathology. any of several diseases of domesticated animals that are characterized by depression, sleepiness, lack of appetite, and diarrhea.Compare fowl cholera, hog cholera.

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Origin of cholera

First recorded in 1600–05 in sense “gastrointestinal disease” and in 1800–05 for its current meaning(def. 1); from Latin: “disease caused by bile,” from Greek choléra; see choler

OTHER WORDS FROM cholera

chol·e·ra·ic

[kol-uh-rey-ik], /ˌkɒl əˈreɪ ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby cholera

choledochotomy, cholelith, cholelithiasis, cholent, choler, cholera, cholera infantum, choleric, cholestasis, cholesteremia, cholesteric

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cholera in a sentence

Researchers across the country and around the world have tested wastewater to study everything from polio to cholera and, more recently, opioids and heroin.
Flushing out the coronavirus: Universities, cities and states are testing wastewater for the virus|Ovetta Wiggins|December 25, 2020|Washington Post
Scientists tested an H1N1 influenza vaccine by exposing people to the flu, and did the same with a cholera vaccine and the bacterium that causes it.
U.K. Plans 'Challenge Trials,' Which Will Intentionally Give People COVID-19 to Test Vaccines|Alice Park|October 20, 2020|Time
His academic research partner, the medical historian Howard Markel, had written a book about the mistreatment of Jewish immigrants in New York during cholera and typhoid outbreaks in 1892.
Inside the Fall of the CDC|by James Bandler, Patricia Callahan, Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|October 15, 2020|ProPublica
In downtown Philadelphia, as Charles Rosenberg recalls in The Cholera Years, “a free couple of color” were found dead of cholera in a room measuring just four and a half by seven foot.
Epidemics Have Often Led To Discrimination Against Minorities – This Time Is No Different|LGBTQ-Editor|June 9, 2020|No Straight News

Something very similar happened in 1849 when America was swept by cholera.
Epidemics Have Often Led To Discrimination Against Minorities – This Time Is No Different|LGBTQ-Editor|June 9, 2020|No Straight News
This method works for TB, for cholera, for rabid animals—for just about everything.
The CDC Was Wrong About How to Stop Ebola|Kent Sepkowitz|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cholera and typhoid fever are transmitted when I ingest contaminated food or drink.
The CDC Was Wrong About How to Stop Ebola|Kent Sepkowitz|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When multiple cases of watery diarrhea spread through one village, doctors feared it was cholera.
Fighting Ebola With Nothing but Hope|Abby Haglage|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cholera and typhoid were rampant and overseers used pick handles to physically force miners into the shafts.
Turkey's Tragedy and History's Worst Mining Accidents|Emily Shire|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the time, New Orleans was a breeding ground for yellow fever and cholera.
The Sacrificial Limbs of New Orleans|Nina Strochlic|March 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then there was the cholera that came in the night to the village by the bridge-works; and after the cholera smote the small-pox.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Cholera broke out at Lexington, Ky., number of deaths to August 1st, 502.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Added to this, an epidemic of cholera had just broken out in the town, and the childrens maid nearly fell a victim to the disease.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Four months after Zinadas marriage my mother was taken ill with cholera.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
The first case of cholera asphixia in America occurred on this day at Quebec.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for cholera

cholera

/ (ˈkɒlərə) /

noun

an acute intestinal infection characterized by severe diarrhoea, cramp, etc: caused by ingestion of water or food contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio commaAlso called: Asiatic cholera, epidemic cholera, Indian cholera

Derived forms of cholera

choleroid, adjective

Word Origin for cholera

C14: from Latin, from Greek kholera jaundice, from kholē bile

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

Scientific definitions for cholera

cholera

[ kŏl′ər-ə ]

An infectious, sometimes fatal disease of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is spread from contaminated water and food and causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration.

Cultural definitions for cholera

cholera

[ (kol-uh-ruh) ]

An acute disease, and an infectious disease, caused by a kind of bacterium that affects the intestines. Transmitted by food or water that has been contaminated with raw sewage, cholera is often fatal and is characterized by severe vomiting, diarrhea, and collapse.