dengue

English

Etymology

From West Indian Spanish dengue in 1828, from the Kiswahili term dinga (in full kidingapopo, "disease caused by an evil spirit"). The borrowed term changed to dengue in Spanish due to this word existing in Spanish with the meaning "fastidiousness" and this folk etymology referring to the dislike of movement by affected patients.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛŋɡi/, /ˈdɛŋɡeɪ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛŋɡi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (India) IPA^(key): /ˈɖɛŋɡi/, /ˈɖɛŋɡʊ/
• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /ˈɖɛŋɡɛ/

Noun

dengue (usually uncountable, plural dengues)

1. An acute febrile disease of the (sub)tropics caused by the Dengue virus, a flavivirus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and characterized by high fever, rash, headache, and severe muscle and joint pain.

Synonyms

• breakbone fever
• dandy fever
• dengue fever

Derived terms

• dengue hemorrhagic fever
• dengue shock syndrome

Translations

disease

• Burmese: သွေးလွန်တုပ်ကွေး (my) (swe:lwantupkwe:)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 登革 (dēnggé)

• Dinka: juän awuɔp
• Dutch: knokkelkoorts (nl) f, dengue (nl) f
• Finnish: denguekuume (fi)
• French: dengue (fr)
• German: Denguefieber (de) n
• Greek: δάγγειος πυρετός m (dángeios pyretós)
• Hindi: डंगू m (ḍaṅgū), डैंगू (hi) m (ḍaiṅgū), डैङ्गू (hi) m (ḍaiṅgū), डैंगू फीवर m (ḍaiṅgū phīvar), डंगूज्वर (hi) m (ḍaṅgūjvar), डंगू ज्वर m (ḍaṅgū jvar), लँगड़ा बुखार m (laṅgṛā bukhār)
• Indonesian: demam berdarah (id)
• Lao: ໄຂ້ເລືອດອອກ (khai lư̄at ʼǭk), ພະຍາດໄຂ້ເລືອດອອກ (lo) (pha nyāt khai lư̄at ʼǭk)
• Malay: denggi
• Polish: denga (pl) f
• Portuguese: dengue (pt) f
• Spanish: dengue (es) m
• Tagalog: dengge
• Thai: ไข้เด็งกี (kâi denggee)
• Turkish: dang humması
• Vietnamese: sốt xuất huyết Dingue

Further reading

• dengue on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• unedge

---

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish dengue or indirectly via French dengue (itself from Spanish), probably from Swahili dinga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛŋ.ɡeː/, /ˈdɛŋ.ɡə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: den‧gue

Noun

dengue f (uncountable)

1. (medicine, jargon) dengue, febrile disease caused by the Dengue virus [from late 19th c.]

   Synonym: knokkelkoorts

Descendants

• → Indonesian: dengue

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛ̃ɡ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: dingue, dingues

Noun

dengue f (plural dengues)

1. (pathology) dengue

Further reading

• “dengue”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• duègne

---

Galician

Galician woman wearing a dengue

Etymology

Unknown. Attested since 1840.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɛŋɡɪ], (NW) [ˈdɛŋkɪ]

Noun

dengue m (plural dengues)

1. (clothing) kind of cape which, worn as a jacket, is part of the traditional women's attire of Galicia and Asturias

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “dengue”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “dengue”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “dengue”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

---

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch dengue, from Spanish dengue or indirectly via French dengue (itself from Spanish), probably from Swahili dinga.

Pronunciation

• (standard, irregular) IPA^(key): [ˈdeŋɡe] (as if spelled dénggé)
• Rhymes: -ɡe, -e
• Hyphenation: de‧ngue

Noun

dengue (first-person possessive dengueku, second-person possessive denguemu, third-person possessive denguenya)

1. (medicine, pathology) dengue: an acute febrile disease of the (sub)tropics caused by the Dengue virus, a flavivirus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and characterized by high fever, rash, headache, and severe muscle and joint pain.

Alternative forms

• dénggé
• dénggi (Standard Malay)

Further reading

• “dengue” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

---

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdẽ.ɡi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdẽ.ɡi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdẽ.ɡe/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdẽ.ɡɨ/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish dengue.

Noun

dengue f (plural dengues)

1. (pathology) dengue (disease)

Etymology 2

Noun

dengue m (plural dengues)

1. tantrum

Derived terms

• dengo
• denguice

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdenɡe/ [ˈd̪ẽŋ.ɡe]
• Rhymes: -enɡe
• Syllabification: den‧gue

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Possibly from Swahili dinga (“sudden attack, seizure”).

Noun

dengue m (plural dengues)

1. dengue (disease)

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic

Noun

dengue m (plural dengues)

1. playacting (overdramatic behaviour)

Further reading

• “dengue”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28