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psittacosis

[ sit-uh-koh-sis ]
/ ˌsɪt əˈkoʊ sɪs /
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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.
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Also called ornithosis, parrot fever.

Origin of psittacosis

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

Words nearby psittacosis

PSIS, psithurism, psittacine, psittacinite, psittacism, psittacosis, PSK, Pskov, PSL, PSNI, psoas
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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
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