Hansen's disease
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Hansen's disease
1935–40; named after G. H. Hansen (1841–1912), Norwegian physician and discoverer of leprosy-causing Mycobacterium leprae
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.
Leprosy, a bacterial infection also known as Hansen’s disease, has been curable by a combination of antibiotics since 1981, and the facility closed in 1999.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
Barr was by then known for her superior laboratory skills, having worked on the bacterium that causes Hansen’s disease, commonly called leprosy, as well as other projects.
From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024
A cure for Hansen’s disease was found in the mid-20th century.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2023
Those days are over, thank goodness, but people diagnosed with Hansen’s disease still worry about how society will respond.
From Slate • Aug. 15, 2023
We know she walked through a dangerous jungle with a secret map strapped to her back, even as she suffered the debilitating effects of Hansen’s disease.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
