fever

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Abnormally high body temperature.
• noun Any of various diseases characterized by abnormally high body temperature.
• noun A condition of heightened activity or excitement.
• noun A contagious, usually short-lived enthusiasm or craze.
• intransitive verb To effect fever in.
• intransitive verb To be or become feverish.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In pathol.: A temperature of the body higher than the normal temperature, appearing as a symptom of disease; pyrexia.
• noun The group of symptoms consisting of pyrexia and the symptoms usually associated with it.
• noun A disease in which pyrexia is a prominent symptom: as, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, etc.
• noun Heat; agitation; excitement by anything that strongly affects the passions: as, a fever of suspense; a fever of contention.
• noun Typhoid fever.
• noun Digestive disturbance with rise of temperature and vomiting of bile.
• noun Same as pemphigus.
• noun Catarrh of the upper air-passages with fever.
• noun Typhoid fever of a mild form.
• noun Typhoid fever.
• noun The pest.
• noun Remittent fever.
• noun Acute gastritis.
• noun Relapsing fever.
• noun Fever incident to some local inflammation.
• noun Anthrax.
• noun Simple continued fever.
• noun Cattle-plague.
• noun Typhoid fever.
• noun Pyrexia of purely nervous origin.
• noun Yellow fever.
• noun Yellow fever.
• noun The plague.
• noun Typhus fever.
• noun Typhoid fever.
• noun Relapsing fever.
• noun Ardent continued fever.
• noun Remittent fever.
• noun yellow fever in new-comers.
• noun Relapsing fever.
• noun Cerebrospinal meningitis.
• noun A period of incubation of two weeks, more or less, terminating in prodromata lasting for a few days, and consisting in a general tired feeling and indisposition to exertion of any kind, lossof appetite, usually some constipation, slight headache, and pains in the limbs.
• noun A period of invasion of a week or less, characterized by a gradually increasing temperature, with morning remissions and evening exacerbations, want of appetite, thirst, dry and coated tongue, frequent pulse, headache, often nose-bleed, usually constipation, often slight diarrhea, slightly tympanitic abdomen, with perhaps some tenderness and gurgling in the right iliac region, some enlargement of the spleen, perhaps slight delirium at night, and some bronchitis.
• noun A period of continued pyrexia (fever) in which the temperature ceases to rise, and in which its daily variations are less. This period (fastigium) lasts for a week or two. The want of appetite, thirst, dry tongue, frequent pulse, headache, and bronchitis continue or are increased. The tympanitis, splenic enlargement, and delirium become more pronounced. Three or four soft yellow stools are passed daily. About the beginning of this period an eruption of small, pink, slightly raised spots appears on the skin, especially of the back and abdomen.
• noun A period of defervescence, in which the fever gradually disappears and all the symptoms improve. This may last about a week. Cases vary much from this typical progress, and may be marked in addition by intestinal hemorrhage, perforation of the intestinal wall with collapse and peritonitis, thrombosis of the larger veins, especially the femoral, pneumonia, lobular and (rarely) lobar, or meningitis. Relapses (after a normal temperature has been reached) and recrudescences (before the fever has entirely disappeared) are not very uncommon. The mortality varies, but the average of recent reports is not far from 10 per cent. The main anatomical features are inflammation of Peyer's patches and of the solitary glands of the small and sometimes of the large intestine, with inflammation of the mesenteric lymphatic glands. Persons between fifteen and thirty years of age seem to be most frequently attacked. A previous attack produces a certain but not complete protection. The contagium seems to be given off from the sick mainly by the stools. The contamination of food and drink seems to be the most important mode of ingress. Personal contact does not materially increase exposure. Typhoid fever is now believed to be caused by a microscopic parasitic organism or bacillus, in length about one third the diameter of a red blood-corpuscle, in thickness about one third of its length, with rounded ends, mobile, forming spores at a temperature between 30° and 42°C., but not at lower temperatures, and forming minute brownish-yellow colonies on gelatin, which it does not soften. For synonyms, see phrases above.
• noun A smith; an artisan.
• To put in a fever; infect with fever.
• To contract or develop fever.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb rare To put into a fever; to affect with fever.
• noun (Med.) A diseased state of the system, marked by increased heat, acceleration of the pulse, and a general derangement of the functions, including usually, thirst and loss of appetite. Many diseases, of which fever is the most prominent symptom, are denominated fevers
• noun Excessive excitement of the passions in consequence of strong emotion; a condition of great excitement.
• noun etc. See under Brain, Continued, etc.