Tay-Sachs disease

[ tey-saks ]

/ ˈteɪˈsæks /

Save This Word!

noun Pathology.

a rare fatal hereditary disease, occurring chiefly in infants and children, especially of eastern European Jewish origin, characterized by a red spot on the retina, gradual blindness, and paralysis.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Tay-Sachs disease

1920–25; named after W. Tay (1843–1927), English physician, and B. Sachs (1858–1944), American neurologist

Words nearby Tay-Sachs disease

Taylor's Gold, Taylor's series, Taylorville, Taymyr Peninsula, tayra, Tay-Sachs disease, Tayside, Tayside Region, taʿziyah, tazza, Tb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Tay-Sachs disease in a sentence

Toomey lives here with her husband, Mark, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, and their two daughters.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Without it, they say, the disease would surely kill her within two years.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die?|Brandy Zadrozny|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He beat his illness twice, wrote about his battles with the disease, and continued broadcasting even as his health was failing.
Remembering ESPN’s Sly, Cocky, and Cool Anchor Stuart Scott|Stereo Williams|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a reminder that, as Beyoncé once sang, “Perfection is the disease of a nation,” and her family is hardly flawless.
Yoncé Said Knock You Out: The Solange and Jay Z Story|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

World peace, religious tolerance, and an end to global poverty, hunger, and disease.
Santa Fails One More Time|P. J. O’Rourke|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In disease, the amount of solids depends mainly upon the activity of metabolism and the ability of the kidneys to excrete.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Men's lives are as thoroughly blended with each other as the air they breathe: evil spreads as necessarily as disease.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
As a rule, however, persistent glycosuria is diagnostic of diabetes mellitus, of which disease it is the essential symptom.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Here they are seldom abundant, but their constant presence is the most reliable urinary sign of the disease.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The darkness, or rather the general misapprehension, which prevails on this subject, is a frightful source of disease and misery.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for Tay-Sachs disease

Tay-Sachs disease

/ (ˌteɪˈsæks) /

noun

an inherited disorder, caused by a faulty recessive gene, in which lipids accumulate in the brain, leading to mental retardation and blindness. It occurs mostly in Ashkenazi Jews

Word Origin for Tay-Sachs disease

C20: named after W. Tay (1843–1927), British physician, and B. Sachs (1858–1944), US neurologist

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

Scientific definitions for Tay-Sachs disease

Tay-Sachs disease

[ tā′săks′ ]

A genetic disease in which the products of fat metabolism accumulate in the nervous system, causing retardation, paralysis, and death by preschool age. Individuals of eastern European Jewish descent have a higher risk of inheriting Tay-Sachs disease. The disease is named after its describers, British ophthalmologist Warren Tay (1843-1927) and American neurologist Bernard Sachs (1858-1944).