febrile

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The Word of the Day for May 8 is:

febrile   \FEB-ryle\   adjective
     : marked or caused by fever : feverish

Example sentence: 
     "He discovered febrile symptoms, and ... all farther resistance became in 
vain; and she was glad to acquiesce, and even to go to bed, and drink 
water-gruel." (Sir Walter Scott, _The Heart of Midlothian_)

Did you know?
     Not too surprisingly, "febrile" originated in the field of medicine. We 
note its first use in the work of the 17th-century medical reformer Noah Biggs. 
Biggs used it in admonishing physicians to care for their "febrile patients" 
properly. Both "feverish" and "febrile" are from the Latin word for "fever," 
which is "febris." Nowadays, "febrile" is used in medicine in a variety of 
ways, including references to such things as "the febrile phase" of an illness. 
And, like "feverish," it also has an extended sense, as in "a febrile emotional 
state."

 



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