milk sickness

noun

1
: an acute disease characterized by weakness, vomiting, and constipation and caused by eating dairy products or meat from cattle poisoned by various plants
2

Examples of milk sickness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In 1965, when the journal Economic Botany compiled a literature review of milk sickness, including period accounts, newspaper articles and academic journals, the authors noted that milk sickness was rarely mentioned even in later 19th-century American medical textbooks. Will McCarthy, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2023 In DuBois County, the majority of recorded deaths in the early 1800s came from milk sickness. Will McCarthy, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of milk sickness was in 1823

Dictionary Entries Near milk sickness

Cite this Entry

“Milk sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/milk%20sickness. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

milk sickness

noun
: an acute disease characterized by weakness, vomiting, and constipation and caused by eating dairy products or meat from cattle affected with trembles

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