blackleg

American  

[blak-leg] / ˈblækˌlɛg /

noun

1. Also called black quarter.  Also called symptomatic anthrax.  Veterinary Pathology. an infectious, often fatal disease of cattle and sheep, caused by the soil bacterium Clostridium chauvoei and characterized by painful, gaseous swellings in the muscles, usually of the upper parts of the legs.

2. Plant Pathology.

   1. a disease of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, characterized by dry, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a fungus, Phoma lingam.

   2. a disease of potatoes, characterized by wet, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a bacterium, Erwinia atroseptica.

3. a swindler, especially in racing or gambling.

4. British Informal. a strikebreaker; scab.

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verb (used with object)

British Informal.

blacklegged, blacklegging

1. to replace (a worker) who is on strike.

2. to refuse to support (a union, union workers, or a strike).

3. to betray or deceive (a person or cause).

verb (used without object)

blacklegged, blacklegging

1. British Informal. to return to work before a strike is settled.

blackleg British  

/ ˈblæklɛɡ /

noun

1. Also called: scab. 

   1. a person who acts against the interests of a trade union, as by continuing to work during a strike or taking over a striker's job

   2. ( as modifier )

      blackleg labour

2. Also called: black quarter.  an acute infectious disease of cattle, sheep, and pigs, characterized by gas-filled swellings, esp on the legs, caused by Clostridium bacteria

3. plant pathol

   1. a fungal disease of cabbages and related plants caused by Phoma lingam , characterized by blackening and decay of the lower stems

   2. a similar disease of potatoes, caused by bacteria

4. a person who cheats in gambling, esp at cards or in racing

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verb

1. to act against the interests of a trade union, esp by refusing to join a strike

Etymology

Origin of blackleg

First recorded in 1715–25; black + leg; the origin of nonliteral senses is unclear; cf. jackleg

Example Sentences

Phil Burbank is based on Savage’s step-uncle, eccentric William “Bill” Brenner, who died of blackleg just as Phil dies of anthrax.

From Washington Post • Feb. 15, 2022

And then all the conversations, while the blackleg spread to cow and bison.

From Nature • Nov. 13, 2018

They fill inoculation guns with Bovi-Shield Gold, a vaccine against respiratory disease, and another for blackleg.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2017

Or they can be plants with virus or blackleg, or plants that are not "true-to-type", meaning they have the wrong morphology and are therefore too tall or deformed in another way, he adds.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2012

While it is capable of destroying all bacteria in their vegetative state, it is unable to destroy such spores as those of anthrax and blackleg.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry