GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Diphtheria , n. [NL., fr. Gr.  leather (hence taken in the sense of membrane): cf.  to make soft, L. depsere to knead.] (Med.) A very dangerous contagious disease in which the air passages, and especially the throat, become coated with a false membrane, produced by the solidification of an inflammatory exudation. Cf. Group.