rickets
[rik-its]
- a disease of childhood, characterized by softening of the bones as a result of inadequate intake of vitamin D and insufficient exposure to sunlight, also associated with impaired calcium and phosphorus metabolism.
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Origin of rickets
First recorded in 1635–45; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rickets
Historical Examples
Tuberculosis and rickets carried on their evil work unchecked.
A Labrador DoctorWilfred Thomason Grenfell
Excessive perspiration when sleeping is an early symptom of rickets.
The Mother and Her ChildWilliam S. Sadler
Rickets, during infancy, is the most common cause of spinal curvature.
The Mother and Her ChildWilliam S. Sadler
It is increased also by pain in rickets, and especially in some affections of the lungs.
The Mother and Her ChildWilliam S. Sadler
I forthwith entered into an explanation of the causes of rickets.
At the Court of the AmrJohn Alfred Gray
rickets
- (functioning as singular or plural) pathol a disease mainly of children, characterized by softening of developing bone, and hence bow legs, malnutrition, and enlargement of the liver and spleen, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D
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Word Origin
C17: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for rickets
n.
disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, 1630s, of uncertain origin. Originally a local name for the disease in Dorset and Somerset, England. Some derive it from a Dorset word, rucket "to breathe with difficulty," but the sense connection is difficult. The Modern Latin name for the disease, rachitis, comes from Greek rhakhis "spine" (see rachitic), but this was chosen by English physician Daniel Whistler (1619-1684) for resemblance to rickets.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rickets
(rĭk′ĭts)- A bone disease resulting in defective skeletal growth in children, analogous to osteomalacia in adults, characterized by bone demineralization caused by deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D or phosphates. infantile osteomalacia juvenile osteomalacia rachitis
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
rickets
[rĭk′ĭts]
- A bone disease seen mostly in children, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, usually as a result of inadequate dietary intake or lack of exposure to sunlight. This deficiency causes decreased calcium absorption from the intestine and abnormalities in formation and mineralization of skeletal bone, resulting in defective bone growth and deformity.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.