psittacosis

[ sit-uh-koh-sis ]

/ ˌsɪt əˈkoʊ sɪs /

noun Pathology.

a rickettsial disease affecting birds of the parrot family, pigeons, and domestic fowl, caused by the chlamydia Chlamydia psittaci and transmissible to humans.

Nearby words

psilosis, psis, psittacine, psittacinite, psittacism, psittacosis, psi′ particle, psk, pskov, psl, psni

Origin of psittacosis

1895–1900; < Latin psittac(us) parrot (< Greek psittakós) + -osis

Also called ornithosis, parrot fever.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for psittacosis

psittacosis

/ (ˌsɪtəˈkəʊsɪs) /

noun

a disease of parrots, caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydia psittaci, that can be transmitted to man, in whom it produces inflammation of the lungs and pneumoniaAlso called: parrot fever, ornithosis

Word Origin for psittacosis

C19: from New Latin, from Latin psittacus a parrot, from Greek psittakos; see -osis

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

Medicine definitions for psittacosis

psittacosis

[ sĭt′ə-kō′sĭs ]

n.

An infectious disease of parrots and related birds that is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci and that is communicable to humans, in whom it produces high fever, severe headache, and symptoms similar to pneumonia.parrot fever