Main Entry:

chol·era

Pronunciation:

\ˈkä-lə-rə\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Latin

Date:

1601

: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms ; especially : an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by a comma-shaped gram-negative bacillus (Vibrio cholerae syn. V. comma) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal part of the human small intestine