Meanings
plural tuberculoses
- countableuncountablemedicineAn infectious disease of humans and animals caused by a species of mycobacterium, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis, mainly infecting the lungs where it causes tubercles characterized by the expectoration of mucus and sputum, fever, weight loss, and chest pain, and transmitted through inhalation or ingestion of bacteria.First known use 1839
With smallpox gone, tuberculosis is today the deadliest infectious disease on the planet.
2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 380Synonyms: consumption, phthisic, TB, white death, white man's plague, white plague
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn infectious disease of humans and animals caused by a species of mycobacterium, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis, mainly infecting the lungs where it causes tubercles characterized by the expectoration of mucus and sputum, fever, weight loss, and chest pain, and transmitted through inhalation or ingestion of bacteria.
More synonyms by meaning
nouninfection transmitted by inhalation or ingestion of tubercle bacilli and manifested in fever and small lesions (usually in the lungs but in various other parts of the body in acute stages)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latintūberculum
- New Latintūberculōsis
- Englishtuberculosis
To international scientific vocabulary from New Latin tūberculōsis, from Latin tūberculum (diminutive of tūber (“lump”)) + Latin -ōsis (“diseased condition”); by surface analysis, tubercul(um) + -osis; named for the encapsulated colonies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within the lungs in pulmonary tuberculosis, which can look like small tubers (tubercles) on gross pathology. The disease has existed throughout human experience and had other names for millennia before scientific medicine renamed it with a New Latin term in the mid-19th century (1840s); in English it was called consumption because of the wasting away that consumed health and seemed even to consume flesh in some cases (for example, causing fistulas and tissue breakdown).
More words from New Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سُلّ
- سُلّ (sull)infectious disease
Bulgarian туберкуло́за
- туберкуло́за (tuberkulóza)infectious disease
Catalan tuberculosi
- tuberculosiinfectious disease
Chinese Cantonese 肺癆 /肺痨
- 肺癆 /肺痨 (fai³ lou⁴)infectious disease
Chinese Mandarin 結核 /结核, 肺結核 /肺结核
- 結核 /结核 (jiéhé)infectious disease
- 肺結核 /肺结核 (fèijiéhé)infectious disease
- 結核病 /结核病 (jiéhébìng)infectious disease
Czech tuberkulóza, souchotiny
- tuberkulózainfectious disease
- souchotinyinfectious disease
- úbytěinfectious disease
Danish tuberkulose
- tuberkuloseinfectious disease
Dutch tuberculose, tering
- tuberculoseinfectious disease
- teringinfectious disease
- tbcinfectious disease
Esperanto tuberkulozo
- tuberkulozoinfectious disease
Finnish tuberkuloosi, keuhkotuberkuloosi
- tuberkuloosiinfectious disease
- keuhkotuberkuloosiinfectious disease
French tuberculose
- tuberculoseinfectious disease
German Tuberkulose
- Tuberkuloseinfectious disease
Greek φυματίωση
- φυματίωση (fymatíosi)infectious disease
Hebrew שחפת
- שחפת (shakhéfet)infectious disease
Hindi यक्ष्मा, क्षयी
- यक्ष्मा (yakṣmā)infectious disease
- क्षयी (kṣayī)infectious disease
- तपेदिक (tapedik)infectious disease
- तपेदिक़ (tapediq)infectious disease
- काली खाँसी (kālī khā̃sī)infectious disease
Hungarian tuberkulózis
- tuberkulózisinfectious disease
Icelandic berklar
- berklarinfectious disease
Indonesian tuberkulosis
- tuberkulosisinfectious disease
Irish créachta, an eitinn
- créachtainfectious disease
- an eitinninfectious disease
Italian tubercolosi
- tubercolosiinfectious disease
Japanese 結核
- 結核 (kekkaku)infectious disease
Korean 결핵
- 결핵 (gyeolhaek)infectious disease
Latin phthisis, tūberculōsis
- phthisisinfectious disease
- tūberculōsisinfectious disease
Lithuanian tuberkuliozė, džiova
- tuberkuliozėinfectious disease
- džiovainfectious disease
Malay batuk kering, tuberkulosis
- batuk keringinfectious disease
- tuberkulosisinfectious disease
Māori mate kohi
- mate kohiinfectious disease
Persian سل, تب دق
- سل (sell)infectious disease
- تب دق (tab-e deq)infectious disease
- رنج باریک (ranj-e bārīk)infectious disease
- تب لازم (tab-e lāzem)infectious disease
- تب استخوانی (tab-e ostoxānī)infectious disease
Polish gruźlica, tuberkuloza
- gruźlicainfectious disease
- tuberkulozainfectious disease
- suchotyinfectious disease
Portuguese tuberculose
- tuberculoseinfectious disease
Romanian tuberculoză
- tuberculozăinfectious disease
Russian туберкулёз, чахо́тка
- туберкулёз (tuberkuljóz)infectious disease
- чахо́тка (čaxótka)infectious disease
Scottish Gaelic a' chaitheamh
- a' chaitheamhinfectious disease
Slovak tuberkulóza, suchoty
- tuberkulózainfectious disease
- suchotyinfectious disease
- ftízainfectious disease
Spanish tuberculosis
- tuberculosisinfectious disease
Swahili kifua kikuu
- kifua kikuuinfectious disease
Swedish tuberkulos
- tuberkulosinfectious disease
Tagalog tuberkulosis, sigam
- tuberkulosisinfectious disease
- sigaminfectious disease
- pagkatuyoinfectious disease
- tuyoinfectious disease
Tamil காச நோய், காசம்
- காச நோய் (kāca nōy)infectious disease
- காசம் (kācam)infectious disease
- என்புருக்கி (eṉpurukki)infectious disease
- எலும்புருக்கி (elumpurukki)infectious disease
Thai วัณโรค
- วัณโรค (wan-ná-rôok)infectious disease
Turkish verem, tüberküloz
- vereminfectious disease
- tüberkülozinfectious disease
Ukrainian туберкульо́з
- туберкульо́з (tuberkulʹóz)infectious disease
Urdu یکشما
- یکشما (yakṣmā)infectious disease
Vietnamese bệnh lao
- bệnh laoinfectious disease
Welsh twbercwlosis, diciâu
- twbercwlosisinfectious disease
- diciâuinfectious disease
Yiddish טובערקולאָז, סוכאָטע
- טובערקולאָז (tuberkuloz)infectious disease
- סוכאָטע (sukhote)infectious disease
- דער (der)infectious disease
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tuberculosis
Cite this entry
tuberculosis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tuberculosis
“tuberculosis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tuberculosis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tuberculosis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tuberculosis.
Source: tuberculosis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.