ague

noun

ˈā-(ˌ)gyü 

1

: a fever (such as malaria) marked by paroxysms (see paroxysm sense 1) of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals

2

: a fit of shivering

aguish

ˈā-ˌgyü-ish 

adjective

Examples of ague in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Arnaud described a patient called Louis, a French army officer who had served in Tonkin (in Vietnam) but who had been sent home suffering from 'ague' (probably malaria) and symptoms of amnesia, possibly as a result of cerebral malaria. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2016

The fever and ague, diarrhea and dysentery had made dreadful havoc ... and the awful pictures of the tent town or encamping ground at Happy Valley are horrifying in the extreme. —Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, 29 May 2020

Now ague, biliousness, lumbago, Saint Vitus’s dance and dropsy. —Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2019

The Bolt’s +200-mile range puts it beyond the nagging agues of range anxiety. —Dan Neil, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French ague, from Medieval Latin (febris) acuta, literally, sharp fever, from Latin, feminine of acutus sharp — more at acute

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ague

noun

ˈā-gyü 

1

: a fever (as malaria) marked by outbreaks of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals

2

: a fit of shivering : chill

Medical Definition

ague

noun

ˈā-(ˌ)gyü 

1

: a fever (as malaria) marked by paroxysms of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals

2

: a fit of shivering : chill