Definitions

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

  • noun A mild contagious eruptive disease caused by a virus and capable of producing congenital defects in infants born to mothers infected during the first three months of pregnancy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A usually insignificant contagious disease, with a rose-colored eruption, slight catarrhal symptoms in the mucous membranes of the head and larger air-passages of the chest, and usually slight pyrexia and cervical lymphadenitis.

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

  • noun (Med.) An acute but mild viral infection characterized by a dusky red cutaneous eruption resembling that of measles, but attended by only mild respiratory problems or fever; -- called also German measles. The infective virus is called Rubella virus, or Rubivirus. If contracted by a woman during the first several months of pregnancy, rubella may cause serious abnormalities in the fetus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology A mild disease caused by the Rubella virus infecting the respiratory tract, and characterised by a rash of pink dots, fever and swollen lymph nodes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a contagious viral disease that is a milder form of measles lasting three or four days; can be damaging to a fetus during the first trimester

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin, neuter pl. of rubellus, red, from ruber; see reudh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • The mumps vaccine is contained in a combination vaccine called MMR (measles, mumps and rubella, which is also known as German measles).

    MMR: Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine 2008

  • Measles, also called rubella, is a highly contagious - but rare - respiratory infection that's caused by a virus.

    Top Stories - Google News 2008

  • And other infectious diseases, such as rubella, chickenpox, and Legionnaires' disease are not uncommon.

    For the weekend: Staying healthy on the high seas 2010

  • And other infectious diseases, such as rubella, chickenpox, and Legionnaires 'disease are not uncommon.

    For the weekend: Staying healthy on the high seas 2010

  • Bacterial or viral infections - Diseases such as rubella, chlamydia, anaerobic vaginosis, cytomegalovirus, etc., can result in miscarriage or congenital deformity if contracted during early pregnancy.

    Miscarriage 2007

  • These new regulations take new steps to protect the health of all Americans by ensuring legal immigrants can access - without fear - free immunizations, testing, and treatment for communicable diseases, such as rubella or tuberculosis.

    Vice President Takes Assure Families Access To Health Care ITY National Archives 1999

  • "We vaccinate against other illnesses such as rubella, meningitis, chicken pox, polio, so why not cervical cancer, which can be terminal?"

    NewsWire.co.nz 2009

  • The authors note that other types of maternal infections during pregnancy such as rubella, varicella, cytomegalovirus and toxoplasmosis may cause central nervous system abnormalities and cognitive delay in offspring.

    Infection Control Today Articles 2009

  • "We vaccinate against other illnesses such as rubella, meningitis, chicken pox, polio, so why not cervical cancer, which can be terminal?"

    NewsWire.co.nz 2009

  • The authors note that other types of maternal infections during pregnancy such as rubella, varicella, cytomegalovirus and toxoplasmosis may cause central nervous system abnormalities and cognitive delay in offspring.

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

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