malaria

Definitions


[məˈlɛːrɪə], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an intermittent and remittent fever caused by a protozoan parasite which invades the red blood cells and is transmitted by mosquitoes in many tropical and subtropical regions


Phrases:

Origin:
mid 18th century: from Italian, from mal'aria, contracted form of mala aria ‘bad air’. The term originally denoted the unwholesome atmosphere caused by the exhalations of marshes, to which the disease was formerly attributed




definition by Oxford Dictionaries