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kala-azar

[ kah-lah-ah-zahr, kah-luh-az-er ]
/ ˌkɑ lɑ ɑˈzɑr, ˌkɑ ləˈæz ər /
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noun Pathology.
a chronic, usually fatal disease occurring in tropical areas of Asia and the Western Hemisphere, characterized by irregular fever, enlargement of the spleen, anemia, and emaciation, caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani.
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Also called Dumdum fever, visceral leishmaniasis.

Origin of kala-azar

1880–85; <Hindi, equivalent to kālā black + Persian āzār disease

Words nearby kala-azar

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

How to use kala-azar in a sentence

  • It is commonly known as "Kala-azar," or "dum-dum" fever, and more technically as tropical leishmaniasis.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for kala-azar

kala-azar
/ (ˌkɑːləəˈzɑː) /

noun
a tropical infectious disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani in the liver, spleen, etc, characterized by fever and weight loss; visceral leishmaniasis

Word Origin for kala-azar

from Assamese kālā black + āzār disease
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
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