Definition of anthrax
: an infectious disease of warm-blooded animals (such as cattle and sheep) caused by a spore-forming bacterium (Bacillus anthracis), transmissible to humans especially by the handling of infected products (such as wool), and characterized by cutaneous ulcerating nodules or by often fatal lesions in the lungs
also
: the bacterium causing anthrax
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for anthrax
The first known use of anthrax was in 1776
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