elephantiasis
noun
Did you know?
In Latin elephantiasis referred to a kind of leprosy in which the skin takes on the appearance of an elephant's hide. The word is still used in the medical field for various infectious skin diseases in which the affected part becomes grossly enlarged. The first known figurative use of "elephantiasis" is by English author George Meredith in a letter dated December 22, 1866. In that letter, he ribs an acquaintance for his exaggerated description of the size of a mackerel, telling him that he has "become the victim of a kind of mental elephantiasis."
Examples of elephantiasis in a Sentence
Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
Brain-eating amoebas, blood flukes, leeches, and the worms that cause lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, are all parasites.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2024
There’s a condition called elephantiasis, which is really a lymphatic obstruction caused by a parasite called Wuchereria bancrofti.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 13 June 2023
Lymphatic elephantiasis was deemed eradicated in several countries after such programs were implemented.
—Bradley Van Paridon, Scientific American, 1 June 2023
How many more Golden Age musicals can Sher and Lincoln Center Theater lavish their love on before the project turns into Encores! with elephantiasis?
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2023
An Indonesian man with elephantiasis caused by Wuchereria bancrofti.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 5 Oct. 2015
Both Ōmura and Campbell discovered avermectins, a class of compounds that can kill parasitic roundworms that cause crippling diseases, such as lymphatic filariasis, otherwise known as elephantiasis, and onchocerciasis or river blindness.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 5 Oct. 2015
In another example, which Doyle and other students witnessed, a patient came in to see Bell for treatment for early-stage elephantiasis.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near elephantiasis
Cite this Entry
“Elephantiasis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephantiasis. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
elephantiasis
noun
Medical Definition
elephantiasis
noun
-ˌfan-
Share