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ratbite fever

American  
[rat-bahyt] / ˈrætˌbaɪt /

noun

Pathology.

  1. either of two relapsing febrile diseases, widely distributed geographically, caused by infection with Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minor and transmitted by rats.

ratbite fever British  
/ ˈrætˌbaɪt /

noun

  1. pathol an acute infectious febrile disease caused by the bite of a rat infected with either of two pathogenic bacteria ( Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus )

"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

Etymology

Origin of ratbite fever

First recorded in 1905–10; rat + bite

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.