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erysipelas

American  
[er-uh-sip-uh-luhs, eer-uh-] / ˌɛr əˈsɪp ə ləs, ˌɪər ə- /

noun

  1. Pathology. an acute, febrile infectious disease, caused by a specific streptococcus, characterized by diffusely spreading deep-red inflammation of the skin or mucous membranes.

  2. Also called swine erysipelasVeterinary Pathology. a disease of swine, caused by the organism Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, characterized by urticaria, vegetative endocarditis, arthritis, and sometimes septicemia.


erysipelas British  
/ ˌɛrɪˈsɪpɪləs /

noun

  1. Also called: Saint Anthony's fire.  an acute streptococcal infectious disease of the skin, characterized by fever, headache, vomiting, and purplish raised lesions, esp on the face

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of erysipelas

1350–1400; Middle English erisipila < Latin erysipelas < Greek, equivalent to erysi- (probably akin to erythrós red) + -pelas probably skin (akin to pélma sole of the foot; compare Latin pellis skin)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In an interview with newspaper O Globo, Mourão chalked up Bolsonaro’s absence to erysipelas, a skin infection on his legs that he said prevents the president from wearing pants.

From Seattle Times Nov. 25, 2022

In an interview with newspaper O Globo, Vice President Hamilton Mourão chalked up Bolsonaro’s absence to erysipelas, a skin infection on his legs that he said prevents the president from wearing pants.

From Washington Times Nov. 22, 2022

Four major infections were accepted as largely inevitable: septicaemia, erysipelas, gangrene and pyaemia.

From Nature Oct. 3, 2017

One case leapt out at him: a patient who had several unsuccessful operations to remove a huge sarcoma from his face, and wound up with a severe infection, then called erysipelas, caused by Streptococcal bacteria.

From New York Times Jul. 30, 2016

Great tension of the lids demands free incisions in the long diameter of either, and the same surgical procedures are often demanded in erysipelas of the scrotum or of the labia in the female.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

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