Meanings
plural pellagras
- countableuncountablemedicineA disease characterised by skin lesions and mental confusion, primarily caused by a niacin deficiency.First known use 19th c.
In 1755 the French physician Gaspar Casal (1680–1759) published an account of pellagra, then a new disease in Spain.
1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 5311 more example
Mixing the alkali into the recipe in the right way chemically releases the otherwise unavailable niacin in the corn, which stops pellagra in its tracks, and allowed corn-based agricultural populations to grow and spread.
2016, Joseph Henrich, chapter 7, in The Secret of Our Success […] , Princeton: Princeton University Press, →ISBN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna disease caused by deficiency of niacin or tryptophan (or by a defect in the metabolic conversion of tryptophan to niacin); characterized by gastrointestinal disturbances and erythema and nervous or mental disorders; may be caused by malnutrition or alcoholism or other nutritional impairments
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἄγρα“seizure, attack, catching”
- Latinpellis“skin”
- Italianpellagra
- Englishpellagra
From Italian pellagra, from Latin pellis (“skin”) + Ancient Greek ἄγρα (ágra, “seizure, attack, catching”).
More words from Italian, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 糙皮病
- 糙皮病 (cāopíbìng)disease
Dutch pellagra
- pellagradisease
Finnish pellagra
- pellagradisease
French pellagre
- pellagredisease
German Pellagra
- Pellagradisease
Irish peallagra
- peallagradisease
Italian pellagra
- pellagradisease
Portuguese pelagra
- pelagradisease
Russian пелла́гра
- пелла́гра (pellágra)disease
Spanish pelagra
- pelagradisease
Swedish pellagra
- pellagradisease
Cite this entry
pellagra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pellagra
“pellagra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pellagra. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pellagra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pellagra.
Source: pellagra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.