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sextan

American  
[sek-stuhn] / ˈsɛk stən /

adjective

  1. (of a fever) characterized by paroxysms that recur every sixth day.

noun

  1. a sextan fever.

sextan British  
/ ˈsɛkstən /

adjective

  1. (of a fever) marked by paroxysms that recur after an interval of five days

"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 sextan

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin sextān(a) (febris) “sixth day (fever),” equivalent to Latin sext(us) sixth + āna -an

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.