DIPHTHERIA

Diph‐the″ri‐a (?), 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.