disease

English Online Dictionary. What means disease‎? What does disease mean?

English

Alternative forms

• (uneasiness): dis-ease

Etymology

From Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, disaise, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise. Displaced native Middle English adle, audle (“disease”) (from Old English ādl (“disease, sickness”), see adle), Middle English cothe, coathe (“disease”) (from Old English coþu (“disease”), see coath). By surface analysis, dis- +‎ ease.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: dĭ-zēzʹ IPA^(key): /dɪˈziːz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɪˈziz/, /dəˈziz/
• Hyphenation: dis‧ease
• Rhymes: -iːz

Noun

disease (countable and uncountable, plural diseases)

1. (medicine) An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired.
   • November 22, 1787, James Madison Jr., Federalist No. 10

     The instability, injustice, and confusion, introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have every where perished; […]
2. (figuratively) Any abnormal or harmful condition, as of society, people's attitudes, way of living etc.
3. A lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:disease § Synonyms

Hyponyms

• See Thesaurus:disease § Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

disease (third-person singular simple present diseases, present participle diseasing, simple past and past participle diseased)

1. (obsolete) To cause unease; to annoy, irritate.
2. To infect with a disease.

References

• “disease”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “disease”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Seaside, seaside