Main Entry: chol·era

Pronunciation: \ˈkäl-ə-rə\

Function: noun

: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms: as a : an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by various strains of a comma-shaped gram-negative bacterium of the genus Vibrio (V. cholerae synonym V. comma) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal part of the human small intestine—see asiatic cholera b : fowl cholera c : hog cholera

—chol·e·ra·ic \ˌkäl-ə-ˈrā-ik\ adjective