quartan

[ kwawr-tn ]

adjective

1. (of a fever, ague, etc.) characterized by paroxysms that recur every fourth day, both days of consecutive occurrence being counted.

noun

1. a quartan fever or ague.
2. quartan malaria.

quartan

/ ˈkwɔːtən /

adjective

1. (esp of a malarial fever) occurring every third day

Word History and Origins

Origin of quartan¹

1250–1300; Middle English quartaine < Old French < Latin ( febris ) quartāna quartan (fever), feminine of quartānus, equivalent to quart ( us ) fourth + -ānus -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of quartan¹

C13: from Latin febris quartāna fever occurring every fourth day, reckoned inclusively

Example Sentences

It has been remarked by several writers that quartan attacks have a smaller ratio in the Southern States than in other parts of the Union.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been observed in intermitting fevers, that paroxysms of the quotidian recur in the morning, the tertian at noon, and the quartan in the afternoon; in no instance do they take place at night.

From Project Gutenberg

Two, the so-called benign fevers, are intermittent; namely, tertian and quartan fever, in which the fever recurs every second and third day respectively.

From Project Gutenberg

Don Carlos had also fallen sick of the quartan fever, some time before the arrival of the queen in Spain.

From Project Gutenberg

Her fountains ministered to bodily ailments—Vapours, Winds, Gouts, Quinsies, Consumptions, Fevers quartan and tertian—without pretending to the power of love-philtres or the sparkle of the Castalian Spring.

From Project Gutenberg