Ma*la"ri*a (?), n. [It., contr. fr.
malaaria bad air. See Malice, and Air.]
1. Air infected with some noxious substance
capable of engendering disease; esp., an unhealthy exhalation from
certain soils, as marshy or wet lands, producing fevers;
miasma.
&fist; The morbific agent in malaria is supposed by some to be a
vegetable microbe or its spores, and by others to be a very minute
animal blood parasite (an infusorian).
2. (Med.) A morbid condition produced
by exhalations from decaying vegetable matter in contact with
moisture, giving rise to fever and ague and many other symptoms
characterized by their tendency to recur at definite and usually
uniform intervals.
