n.
An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.
[Middle English dissenterie, from Old French, from Latin dysenteria, from Greek dusenteriā : dus-, dys- + enteron, intestine.]
dysenteric dys'en·ter'ic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
