measles

[mee-zuhlz]

noun

1. (used with a singular or plural verb)

   1. an acute infectious disease occurring mostly in children, characterized by catarrhal and febrile symptoms and an eruption of small red spots; rubeola.

   2. any of certain other eruptive diseases.

2. Veterinary Pathology.,  a disease in swine and other animals caused by the larvae of certain tapeworms of the genus Taenia.

3. (used with a plural verb),  the larvae that cause measles in swine and other animals, and that upon maturation produce trichinosis in humans.

measles

/ ˈmiːzəlz /

noun

1. Technical names: morbilli.  rubeola. a highly contagious viral disease common in children, characterized by fever, profuse nasal discharge of mucus, conjunctivitis, and a rash of small red spots spreading from the forehead down to the limbs See also German measles

2. a disease of cattle, sheep, and pigs, caused by infestation with tapeworm larvae

measles

1. An infectious disease caused by the rubeola virus of the genus Morbillivirus, characterized by fever, cough, and a rash that begins on the face and spreads to other parts of the body. Vaccinations, usually given in early childhood, confer immunity to measles.

2. Also called rubeola

measles

1. An acute and contagious disease caused by a virus and characterized by the outbreak of small red spots on the skin. Measles occurs most often in school-age children. (Compare German measles.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of measles¹

1275–1325; Middle English mesels, variant of maseles (plural); cognate with Dutch maselen (plural), Middle Dutch masel; akin to German Masern measles, plural of Maser speck

Word History and Origins

Origin of measles¹

C14: from Middle Low German masele spot on the skin; influenced by Middle English mesel leper, from Latin misellus, diminutive of miser wretched