Quintan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Recurring every fifth day, especially referring to a fever pattern that repeats at five-day intervals
2. A cycle that takes place every five days, commonly reflecting specific patterns such as recurrent fevers and other periodic events related to health or timing
3. A pattern that occurs every five days, often associated with health conditions like fevers which exhibit this specific recurrence

Etymology: Ancient physicians sorted recurring fevers by how often they returned, counting both the first and last days. A fever that struck on Monday and again on Friday fell into this category, because the cycle was counted inclusively. The adjective comes from Latin "quintanus", meaning "of the fifth", formed from "quintus", "fifth". It follows the same pattern as "quartan", the name for the fourth-day fever. Latin medical writers used the phrase "febris quintana" for the fever, and English took up the adjective to describe it. The name stayed in use for modern medicine. The fever that struck soldiers in the trenches of the First World War, with its roughly five-day cycle, became known as trench fever. The bacterium later found to cause it was named "Bartonella quintana" for that rhythm.

Synonyms: quintuplet, fivefold