Word of the Day
febrile \ FEB-ryle \ adjective
Definition
1a: marked or caused by fever
1b: feverish
Examples
The patient exhibited a rash and febrile symptoms that were consistent with a certain rare tropical infection.
"Febrile seizures typically occur between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old. They happen when a fever spikes very quickly...."
"Febrile seizures typically occur between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old. They happen when a fever spikes very quickly...."
— Vikki Ortiz Healy, Chicago Tribune, August 4, 2014
Did You Know?
Not too surprisingly, febrile originated in the field of medicine. Its first noted use was in the work of the 17th-century medical reformer Noah Biggs. Biggs used it in admonishing physicians to care for their "febrile patients" properly. Both feverish and febrile are from the Latin word for fever, which is febris. Nowadays, febrile is used in medicine in a variety of ways, including references to such things as "the febrile phase" of an illness. And, like feverish, it also has an extended sense, as in "a febrile emotional state."
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