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.

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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

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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 • Oct. 16, 2025

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 • Mar. 14, 2022

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

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2015

But what really made this year deadly was that the first epidemic of the sweating sickness fell on England, killing tens of thousands of men and women.

From The Guardian • Oct. 10, 2014

Colet died of the sweating sickness on the 16th of September 1519.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various