milk sickness
noun Pathology.
a disease of humans, formerly common in some parts of the Middle West, caused by consuming milk from cattle that have been poisoned by eating certain kinds of snakeroot.
Origin of milk sickness
An Americanism dating back to 1815–25
Words nearby milk sickness
milk punch,
milk ring test,
milk round,
milk run,
milk shake,
milk sickness,
milk snake,
milk spots,
milk stout,
milk sugar,
milk toast
Example sentences from the Web for milk sickness
The really successful author in America is, like the milk-sickness, never visible, except on the remote horizon.
A Fortnight of Folly |Maurice Thompson
British Dictionary definitions for milk sickness
milk sickness
noun
an acute disease characterized by weakness, vomiting, and constipation, caused by ingestion of the flesh or dairy products of cattle affected with trembles
vet science another name for trembles (def. 1)
Medical definitions for milk sickness
milk sickness
n.
An acute, now rare disease characterized by trembling, vomiting, and severe intestinal pain, caused by eating dairy products or meat from a cow that has fed on white snakeroot.