melaatsheid

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch malaetscheit. Equivalent to melaats (“leprose”) +‎ -heid (“-ity, -ness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌmeːˈlaːts.ɦɛi̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧laats‧heid

Noun

melaatsheid f (plural melaatsheden)

1. (pathology) skin disease; either leprosy (the infectious skin-disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae) or (historical) another disease historically conflated with leprosy

Synonyms

• lepra (some contexts)