hardware disease

noun

Traumatic gastrointestinal puncture and infection in ruminants (especially cattle) and birds that ingest a sharp object (in livestock usually a metal object such as wire or a fastener); in cattle it usually includes reticuloperitonitis and thus in practice is usually metonymically synonymous with traumatic reticuloperitonitis.

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Meanings

nounhardware disease (uncountable)
  1. uncountableanimal husbandrybiologyTraumatic gastrointestinal puncture and infection in ruminants (especially cattle) and birds that ingest a sharp object (in livestock usually a metal object such as wire or a fastener); in cattle it usually includes reticuloperitonitis and thus in practice is usually metonymically synonymous with traumatic reticuloperitonitis.

Origin

From the fact that in cattle it is usually caused by hardware such as a piece of wire or a fastener (e.g., fence wire, nail, screw).

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Cite this entry
APA

hardware disease. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hardware%20disease

MLA

“hardware disease.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hardware%20disease. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hardware disease,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hardware%20disease.

Source: hardware disease on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.