Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- Pathology. an infectious disease marked by inflammation and ulceration of the lower part of the bowels, with diarrhea that becomes mucous and hemorrhagic.
- diarrhea.
noun
- infection of the intestine with bacteria or amoebae, marked chiefly by severe diarrhoea with the passage of mucus and blood
late 14c., dissenterie, from Old French disentere (13c.), from Latin dysenteria, from Greek dysenteria, coined by Hippocrates, from dys- “bad, abnormal, difficult” (see dys-) + entera “intestines, bowels” (see inter-). Related: Dysenteric.
n.
- An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.
- A gastrointestinal disease characterized by severe, often bloody diarrhea, usually caused by infection with bacteria or parasites.
A painful disease of the intestines characterized by inflammation and diarrhea. Dysentery may be caused by bacteria or viruses, or may occur as the result of infestation by an amoeba.