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Q fever

noun Pathology.
  1. an acute, influenzalike disease caused by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetti.

Origin of Q fever

First recorded in 1935–40; abbreviation of query
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for q fever

Q fever

noun
  1. an acute disease characterized by fever and pneumonia, transmitted to man by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetii

Word Origin for Q fever

C20: from q (uery) fever (the cause being unknown when it was named)
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
q fever in Medicine

Q fever

n.
  1. An infectious disease caused by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetii, characterized by fever, malaise, and muscular pains.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.