D defs.my
Entry 5 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Measles

/mēz'-əlz/ · Mea·sles · IPA /ˈmizəlz/
01 n. Leprosy; also, a leper.
  1. 1.
    Leprosy; also, a leper.[Obs.]
02 n. A contagious viral febrile disorder commencing with catarrhal symptoms, and marked by the appearance on the third day of an eruption of dis…
  1. 1.
    A contagious viral febrile disorder commencing with catarrhal symptoms, and marked by the appearance on the third day of an eruption of distinct red circular spots, which coalesce in a crescentic form, are slightly raised above the surface, and after the fourth day of the eruption gradually decline; rubeola. It is a common childhood disease.(Med.)
    Measles commences with the ordinary symptoms of fever.” — Am. Cyc.
  2. 2.
    A disease of cattle and swine in which the flesh is filled with the embryos of different varieties of the tapeworm.(Veter. Med.)
  3. 3.
    A disease of trees.[Obs.]
  4. 4.
    The larvae of any tapeworm (Taenia) in the cysticerus stage, when contained in meat. Called also bladder worms.(Zool.) Also: bladder worms
Phrases & compounds
German measles — A mild contagious viral disease, which may cause birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman during early pregnancy; also called rubella.