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1. A serious infectious disease of mammals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, most commonly affecting grazing animals. The disease can be transmitted to humans by handling infected animals or contaminated animal products (resulting in cutaneous lesions), by ingesting contaminated meat, or by inhaling bacterial spores.
2. pl.an·thra·ces(-thrə-sēz′)ArchaicA lesion caused by anthrax.
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.