sweating sickness

American  

noun

1. a febrile epidemic disease that appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries: characterized by profuse sweating and frequently fatal in a few hours.

---

sweating sickness British  

noun

1. the nontechnical name for miliary fever

2. an acute infectious febrile disease that was widespread in Europe during the late 15th century, characterized by profuse sweating

3. a disease of cattle, esp calves, prevalent in southern Africa. Transmitted by ticks, it is characterized by sweating, hair loss, and inflammation of the mouth and eyes

---

Etymology

Origin of sweating sickness

First recorded in 1495–1505

Example Sentences

In medieval England, word spread about a so-called "sweating sickness" that was said to kill its victims within six hours.

From BBC

His cause of death is still debated, but it was likely to have been either the dreaded sweating sickness, a mysterious illness that caused multiple epidemics in the 15th and 16th centuries, or possibly consumption.

From Salon

It may be set 500 years ago, but so much resonates as Thomas Cromwell battles his own version of coronavirus: sweating sickness.

From The Guardian

One researcher speculated that it was the cause of mysterious outbreaks beginning in 1485 of an illness called English sweating sickness.

From New York Times

We also see him as a grief-stricken widower and father, whose wife and young daughters succumbed overnight to sweating sickness.

From Washington Post