Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A disease characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine, mucous, bloody, and difficult evacuations, and more or less fever.
  • noun Recent researches have shown that there are at least two diseases, and possibly more, having the same general symptoms and still grouped under the common designation of dysentery. One form, distinguished as bacillary dysentery, is characterized by the presence of a specific bacillus, Bacillus dysenteriæ or Shiga's bacillus (so named after the Japanese physician who discovered it). Another form, amebic dysentery, is associated with the presence in the intestine of a unicellular animal micro-organism, Amœba dysenteriæ. This form is less acute in its onset than bacillary dysentery, but may continue for months or even years, causing great emaciation and anemia, and not infrequently leading to abscess of the liver.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A disease attended with inflammation and ulceration of the colon and rectum, and characterized by griping pains, constant desire to evacuate the bowels, and the discharge of mucus and blood.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology A disease characterised by inflammation of the intestines, especially the colon (large intestine), accompanied by pus (white blood cells) in the feces, fever, pain in the abdomen, low volume of diarrhea, and possible blood in the feces.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an infection of the intestines marked by severe diarrhea

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English dissenterie, from Old French, from Latin dysenteria, from Greek dusenteriā : dus-, dys- + enteron, intestine; see en in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French dissenterie, from Latin dysenteria, from Ancient Greek δυσεντερία (dusenteria), from δυσ- (dus-, "bad") + ἔντερα (entera, "bowels").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dysentery.

Examples

  • Called again in the evening to see my patient, and found his Excellency suffering from what he called dysentery, and administered a couple of small opium pills.

    Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846 James Richardson 1828

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Harker, David N. 1977

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations. Williams 'remains were returned in 1985, after 17 years.

    Daly, James A. Jr. 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Rehe, Richard R. 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations. Williams 'remains were returned in 1985, after 17 years.

    Sykes, Derri 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Cannon, Frances E. 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Strickland, James H. Jr. 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Williams, Richard F. "Top" 1968

  • Death from malnutrition and dysentery is extremely unpleasant, and the victim suffers not only from the discomfort of dysentery, but also from severe edema, and many times from halucinations.

    Watkins, Willie A. 1968

  • Tropical dysentery is a third disease due to a protozoa parasite, the amoeba coli taken in with impure water.

    Some of the Triumphs of Modern Medicine 1910

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.