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typhus

Etymology and origin of the English word typhus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtaɪfəs/[1]

Etymology

It is from New Latin typhus,[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek τῦφος (tûphos, “smoke, vapour; stupor caused by fever”),[2][3][4][5][6] from túphein “to smoke”.[2][3][4][5] The name was given to the fever by Boissier de Sauvages in 1760, after Hippocrates' use of the Greek word for a clouded state of mind.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In medicine, an acute infectious fever marked by prostration and a spotted rash (1785).[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Before the name was adopted the disease was known as pestilential or putrid fever, or by the places where it broke out, such as camp, jail, hospital or ship fever.[4][1] In English the word had earlier meant pride or conceit (1643).[7] It is now known to be caused by rickettsias carried by lice, fleas or mites.[2][5][6]

Timeline

  • 1643 – pride, conceit (obsolete).[7]
  • 1760 – Boissier de Sauvages names the fever.[4]
  • 1785 – the fever, in English.[3][4][5][7]
  • 1789 – typhus fever.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of several infectious diseases caused by rickettsias carried by lice, fleas or mites, with high fever, severe headache, delirium and a dark red rash.

Word family

  • typhous
  • typhogenic
  • typhoid
  • murine typhus
  • scrub typhus

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that typhus should not be confused with typhoid.[1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Typhus.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/typhus. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·