measle

M3E1A1S1L1E1
UK/ˈmiːzəl/US/ˈmizəl/

noun

A red spot of the kind that appears on the skin of someone suffering from measles.

OriginMiddle English mesel ← Old French mesel ← Latin misellus →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

nounmeasle (plural measles)

plural measles

  1. A red spot of the kind that appears on the skin of someone suffering from measles.
  2. A tapeworm larva.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
measling

Origin

  1. Latinmisellus“wretched", "unfortunate”
  2. Old Frenchmesel“leprous”
  3. Middle Englishmesel
  4. Englishmeasle

From Middle English mesel, from Old French mesel (“leprous”), from Latin misellus (“wretched", "unfortunate”), diminutive of miser (“wretched, sick”), of unknown ultimate origin.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with measle

dieseleaselteaseleiselleast weasel
All rhymes →

Anagrams

SaleemEmesal
Cite this entry
APA

measle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measle

MLA

“measle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “measle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measle.

Source: measle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.