leukaemia

/ luːˈkiːmɪə /

noun

1. an acute or chronic disease characterized by a gross proliferation of leucocytes, which crowd into the bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, etc, and suppress the blood-forming apparatus

Word History and Origins

Origin of leukaemia¹

C19: from leuco- + Greek haima blood

Example Sentences

Leukaemia patient Zakwan Anuar, 15, died two weeks after they visited his hospice in Kualar Lumpur, Malaysia, last month.

From The Daily Beast

Kate spent time with 15-year-old Zakwan Anuar (below), who is terminally ill with acute leukaemia.

From The Daily Beast