‖ phthiriasis Path.
(fθ-, θaɪərɪˈeɪsɪs)
Also 9 phtheir-.
[L., a. Gr. ϕθειρίᾱσις lousiness, morbus pedicularis, f. ϕθειριᾶν to be lousy.]
A morbid condition of the body in which lice multiply excessively, causing extreme irritation; pediculosis.
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Furies 507 But with the griefs that charge our outward places Shall I account the loathsome Phthiriasis? a 1656 Ussher Ann. (1658) 245 Calisthenes..fell there sick of the Phthiriasis, or lowsie disease. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) II. i. iv. 458 The Phthiriasis... Herod, Antiochus Epiphanes,..Cassander, Callisthenes, and Sylla, all died of this disorder. 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. vi. i. 295 Lice of Sick Persons—Pediculus Tabescentium... This name has been proposed for a louse which gives rise to a disease termed Phthiriasis. |