Meanings
alternative Q-fever
- uncountableAn infectious disease, resembling influenza, caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii (previously classified as Rickettsia burnetii).
1995, M. Isaacson, M. J. Hale, Chapter 8: Infections Caused by Rickettsiae, W. Doerr, Tropical Pathology, page 275, In the past it was believed that chronic Q fever was always the result of reactivation of a primary infection which persisted in latent form.
2 more examples
2001, Todd Hatchette, Thomas J. Marrie, Q Fever, entry in R. W. Ashford, Encyclopedia of Arthropod-transmitted Infections of Man and Domesticated Animals, page 417, Q fever (query fever) is a zoonosis with worldwide distribution. New Zealand is the only country free of the disease.
Q fever has a major public health impact when outbreaks occur.[…]Accurate diagnosis and effective control strategies are necessary to limit the zoonotic and veterinary impact of Q fever.
2013, H. I. J. Roest, A. Bossers, J. M. J. Rebel, “Q Fever Diagnosis and Control in Domestic Ruminants”, in J. A. Roth, J. A. Richt, I. A. Morozov, editors, Vaccines and Diagnostics for Transboundary Animal Diseases, page 183
Origin
From query + fever, the causative agent being unknown at the time.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَمَى Q
- حَمَى Q (ḥamā Q)infectious disease resembling influenza
Chinese Mandarin Q熱 /Q热, Q型流感
- Q熱 /Q热 (Q-rè)infectious disease resembling influenza
- Q型流感 (Q-xíngliúgǎn)infectious disease resembling influenza
Czech Q horečka
- Q horečkainfectious disease resembling influenza
Dutch Q-koorts
- Q-koortsinfectious disease resembling influenza
Finnish Q-kuume
- Q-kuumeinfectious disease resembling influenza
French fièvre Q
- fièvre Qinfectious disease resembling influenza
German Q-Fieber
- Q-Fieberinfectious disease resembling influenza
Hindi क्यू बुखार
- क्यू बुखार (kyū bukhār)infectious disease resembling influenza
Hungarian Q-láz
- Q-lázinfectious disease resembling influenza
Italian febbre Q
- febbre Qinfectious disease resembling influenza
Japanese Q熱
- Q熱 (kyū-netsu)infectious disease resembling influenza
Korean 큐열
- 큐열 (kyuyeol)infectious disease resembling influenza
Portuguese febre Q
- febre Qinfectious disease resembling influenza
Russian Ку-лихора́дка
- Ку-лихора́дка (Ku-lixorádka)infectious disease resembling influenza
Spanish fiebre Q
- fiebre Qinfectious disease resembling influenza
Vietnamese bệnh sốt Q
- bệnh sốt Qinfectious disease resembling influenza
Cite this entry
Q fever. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Q%20fever
“Q fever.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Q%20fever. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Q fever,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Q%20fever.
Source: Q fever on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.