ERGOTISM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Poisoning by ingestion of ergot-infected grain products; characterized by thirst and diarrhea and nausea and cramping and vomiting and abnormal cardiac rhythms; in severe cases it can cause seizures and gangrene of the limbs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("ergotism" is a kind of...):

intoxication; poisoning; toxic condition (the physiological state produced by a poison or other toxic substance)

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