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瘟疫 (うんえき) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

瘟疫うんえき

also: おんえき

Meanings

1

noun

fever epidemic; pestilence

rare termmedicine

Rare historical medical term for a widespread febrile disease; not used in modern clinical Japanese.

古こ文ぶん書しょには「瘟疫うんえき流りゅう行こう」と記しるされている。
Old documents record 'fever epidemic outbreak'.

Written forms

瘟疫
- うんえき
  Rare kanji spelling for a historical medical term; the reading うんえき is the primary reading.
- おんえき
  Alternate reading; less common than うんえき.
おんえき

Kanji

瘟contagious disease
疫epidemic

Similar words

疫えき病びょう
Common modern term for epidemic or plague; 瘟疫 is a rare historical synonym.
伝でん染せん病びょう
Standard modern term for infectious disease; 瘟疫 is an archaic equivalent.

Etymology

The kanji 瘟 (fever/epidemic) and 疫 (epidemic) combine to form a Sino-Japanese compound meaning 'fever epidemic'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is now rare.