Malarias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of infectious diseases caused by parasites transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes; characterized by symptoms such as fever, chills, and fatigue; it poses significant health risks in tropical and subtropical regions
2. A family of illnesses caused by various species of Plasmodium parasites; notable for cyclical symptoms of sweating and shaking; prevalent in warm climates where the Anopheles mosquito is found
3. An array of diseases that result from protozoan parasites transferred by mosquitoes; marked by acute episodes of fever and other systemic effects; primarily affecting regions with high humidity and temperature

Etymology: "Malarias" is simply the plural of "malaria," so it names several distinct illnesses of this kind, though the word itself is the one that matters for the story. Its origin is a sentence of Italian: "mal" meaning "bad" and "aria" meaning "air." Italians of earlier centuries blamed the sickness that haunted marshy lowlands on foul air rising from the stagnant water, and the name recorded that belief. English once had its own term for the same complaint. Old English speakers called it "unlyft," literally "bad air," a native phrase that did the same job. The Italian word eventually took its place. It was brought into English by the Scottish geologist John MacCulloch, who lived from 1773 to 1835, and it displaced the older English expression.

Synonyms: malarial infections