chorea

[ kuh-ree-uh, kaw-, koh- ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. any of several diseases of the nervous system characterized by jerky, involuntary movements, chiefly of the face and extremities.
2. Also called St. Vitus's dance. such a disease occurring chiefly in children and associated with rheumatic fever.
3. Veterinary Pathology. a disease of the central nervous system caused by bacterial or organic degeneration, most common in dogs following canine distemper, characterized by irregular, jerky, involuntary muscular movements.

chorea

/ kɒˈrɪə /

noun

1. a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by uncontrollable irregular brief jerky movements See Huntington's disease Sydenham's chorea

Derived Forms

• choˈreal, adjective

Other Words From

• cho·real cho·reic cho·re·at·ic [kawr-ee-, at, -ik, kohr-], adjective
• cho·re·oid [kawr, -ee-oid, kohr, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chorea¹

1680–90; < Greek choreía a dance, equivalent to chor ( ós ) chorus + -eia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of chorea¹

C19: from New Latin, from Latin: dance, from Greek khoreia, from khoros dance; see chorus

Example Sentences

We medical folk are simple people, and a famous writer in the E.R., like a case of Sydenham’s chorea or an interestingly shaped object lodged in a rectum, excites our general interest.

From The New Yorker

Patients are plagued by jerky, purposeless movements called chorea.

From Science Magazine

Further ahead, there is hope that CRISPR-Cas9 will help treat diseases such as AIDS, cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s chorea and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

From Economist

Its symptoms are well-characterized: involuntary, jerky movements known as chorea; difficulty in coordinating voluntary movements; cognitive impairment; and psychiatric issues such as changes in mood.

From Nature

This “pathological compensation”, as Nopoulos calls it, could explain why youngsters with Huntington’s disease seem to skip the chorea stage of the condition and go straight to stiffness.

From Nature