legionnaires' disease

noun

, Pathology.

1. a type of acute pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila bacterium and characterized by fever, chest pain, cough, and muscle aches.

legionnaire's disease

noun

1. a serious, sometimes fatal, infection, caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila, which has symptoms similar to those of pneumonia: believed to be spread by inhalation of contaminated water vapour from showers and air-conditioning plants

Word History and Origins

Origin of legionnaires' disease¹

So called from its first reported occurrence, at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976

Word History and Origins

Origin of legionnaires' disease¹

C20: after the outbreak at a meeting of the American Legion at Philadelphia in 1976