sweating sickness

noun

1. a febrile epidemic disease that appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries: characterized by profuse sweating and frequently fatal in a few hours.

sweating sickness

noun

1. the nontechnical name for miliary fever
2. an acute infectious febrile disease that was widespread in Europe during the late 15th century, characterized by profuse sweating
3. a disease of cattle, esp calves, prevalent in southern Africa. Transmitted by ticks, it is characterized by sweating, hair loss, and inflammation of the mouth and eyes

Word History and Origins

Origin of sweating sickness¹

First recorded in 1495–1505

Example Sentences

The Sweating Sickness prevailed in England alone at first, but at length sought foreign victims.

From Project Gutenberg

Whithersoever the winds wafted the stinking mists, the inhabitants became infested with the sweating sickness.

From Project Gutenberg

They are epidemic maladies, which pass over like the sweating sickness and the whooping-cough.

From Project Gutenberg

He excused himself, says the Croyland annalist, on the ground that he was suffering from the sweating sickness.

From Project Gutenberg

Sweating sickness of the original sort was never again the signum pathognomicum of a whole epidemic of fever.

From Project Gutenberg