malaria
Pronunciation: /məˈlɛːrɪə/
Translate malaria | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish [ mass noun]
Definition of malaria
noun
- 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.
- The parasite belongs to the genus Plasmodium (phylum Sporozoa) and is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles
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