malaria

Pronunciation: /məˈlɛəɹi.ə/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun an infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito; marked by paroxysms of chills and fever

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian malaria, formed from mal- (“bad”) and aria (“air”). Introduced into English by the Scottish geologist John MacCulloch (1773–1835). Displaced native Old English unlyft (literally “bad air”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
protozoal infection
Narrower (hyponyms)
blackwater fever, jungle fever

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