measlings

measlings

English

Alternative forms

• meslings (obs.)

Etymology

Unknown, but probably via Scandinavian forms such as Swedish mässlingen (“pustules, measles”), Danish mæslinger (“measles”), Icelandic mislingar (“measles”), &c. combining the Germanic roots related to blood blisters with the suffix -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmiːzlɪŋz/

Noun

measlings pl (normally plural, singular measling)

1. (UK dialect) Synonym of measles: the disease caused by M. morbillivirus, the red spots caused by the disease.
   • 1862, C. Clough Robinson, The Dialect of Leeds & Its Neighbourhood, p. 358:

     ‘What āals yar barn, Missis?’
     ‘Shoo’s gotten t’mezlings!’

   • 1890, The New Sydenham Society's Lexicon of Medicine and the Allied Sciences, s.v.:

     Measlings, measles.

   • 1970, Harold Orton & al., Survey of English Dialects, Vol. III, p. 832:

     Measlings... Nf [i.e. Norfolk].

References

• “measlings, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2022.