anthrax

noun

an·thrax | \ ˈan-ˌthraks

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

Examples of anthrax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Emergent still maintains a federal contract to develop anthrax vaccines. — Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 10 May 2022 Ryker does struggle to get people to listen to his concerns about the threat being anthrax in the beginning. — Danielle Turchiano, Variety, 24 Nov. 2021 That agency and health departments at both state and local levels have lost considerable capacities (surveillance, labs and response) since the post-9/11 anthrax attacks. — Lawrence O. Gostin, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2022 My experiences with anthrax, and later on the ground with SARS in China, led me in 2005 as Majority Leader in the Senate to introduce a five-point Pandemic Preparedness Plan. — Bill Frist, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022 Which brings us to the scene in the barn where Peter infects Phil with the anthrax. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2021 The Hart Senate Building staff are evacuated, tested for anthrax, and given a 60-day supply of antibiotics. — CNN, 16 Nov. 2021 In 2001, CBS News announced that an employee in anchorman Dan Rather’s office had tested positive for skin anthrax. — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Oct. 2021 The outbreak represented the first anthrax cases on Yamal since 1941. — Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anthrax.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for anthrax

probably borrowed from French, originally a word applied to the dark skin lesion associated with the cutaneous form of the disease, extended in the 18th century to the disease itself (also called charbon); earlier, "dark skin lesion, carbuncle," going back to Middle French antrac, borrowed from Late Latin anthrac-, anthrax, borrowed from Greek anthrak-, ánthrax "charcoal (burning or unlit, usually in plural), coal, dark red precious stone, dark skin lesion," probably of pre-Greek substratal origin

Note: In the sense "carbuncle, purulent skin lesion (of various origins)," anthrax has been in occasional use in English since Middle English (then attested as antrax, antrace). Regarding the origin of the Greek word, cf. andráchlē "warming pan, brazier," (with -d- for -th-) and kándaros glossed ánthrax by Hesychius (k- alternating with ø), features (along with the suffix -ak-) suggesting substratal origin (see Robert Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2010).

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Last Updated

20 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Anthrax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthrax. Accessed 21 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for anthrax

anthrax

noun

an·thrax | \ ˈan-ˌthraks

Kids Definition of anthrax

: a serious bacterial disease of warm-blooded animals (as sheep) that can affect humans

anthrax

noun

an·thrax | \ ˈan-ˌthraks

plural anthraces\ -thrə-ˌsēz

Medical Definition of anthrax

: an infectious disease of warm-blooded animals (as cattle and sheep) caused by a spore-forming bacterium (Bacillus anthracis), transmissible to humans especially by the handling of infected products (as hair), and characterized by cutaneous ulcerating nodules or by often fatal lesions in the lungs also : the bacterium causing anthrax