cholera

From Latin cholera (“bilious disease”), from Ancient Greek χολέρα (kholéra, “cholera”). Doublet of choler.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒləɹə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑləɹə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: chol‧e‧ra

cholera (countable and uncountable, plural choleras)

2. (pathology) Any of several acute infectious diseases of humans and domestic animals, caused by certain strains of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium through ingestion of contaminated water or food, usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.
   • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Stolen Bacillus:

     'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'

   • 1950 January, “Notes and News: George Bradshaw's Grave”, in Railway Magazine, pages 61–62:

     At that time, the city [Christiania, now Oslo] was in the grip of a cholera epidemic, and victims were dying at the rate of 60 a day. Bradshaw contracted the disease, and died on September 6 [1853].

• choler

• gastroenteritis

• Laroche, achelor, chorale, choreal

Borrowed from Latin cholera.

• IPA^(key): [ˈxolɛra]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cho‧le‧ra

cholera f

1. cholera

• “cholera”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “cholera”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “cholera”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Borrowed from Latin cholera, from Ancient Greek χολέρα (kholéra).

• IPA^(key): /ˈxoː.ləˌraː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cho‧le‧ra

cholera f or m (uncountable)

1. cholera

• Cholera is the neutral name for the disease. The older terms "kolere" and "klere" are now considered vulgar or offensive.

• klere
• kolere

• → Papiamentu: kólera

From Ancient Greek χολέρᾰ (kholéră).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkʰɔ.ɫɛ.ra]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkɔː.le.ra]

cholera f (genitive cholerae); first declension

1. cholera

First-declension noun.

• Catalan: còlera
• English: cholera
• French: colère, choléra
• Italian: collera, colera
• Russian: холе́ра (xoléra)
• Sicilian: còlira
• Spanish: cólera

• “cholera”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "cholera", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• cholera in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Learned borrowing from Latin cholera, from Ancient Greek χολέρᾰ (kholéră).

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛra
• Syllabification: cho‧le‧ra

cholera f

1. (pathology) cholera
2. (colloquial, mildly vulgar) pest, nuisance (irritating person)

   Jesteś cholerą! ― You're a bastard!

cholera

1. (mildly vulgar) damn!

• cholera in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• cholera in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Zygmunt Wasilewski (1889) “cholera”, in Jagodne: wieś w powiecie łukowskim, gminie Dąbie: zarys etnograficzny (in Polish), Warsaw: M. Arct, page 240

Derived from Latin cholera (“bilious disease”), from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈxɔʎera]

cholera f (relational adjective cholerový)

1. cholera

• “cholera”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃoˈleɾa/ [t͡ʃoˈle.ɾa]
• Rhymes: -eɾa
• Syllabification: cho‧le‧ra

cholera f (plural choleras)

1. female equivalent of cholero