measlings

English

Alternative forms

• meslings (obs.)

Etymology

Unknown, but probably via pluralia tantum Scandinavian words like Danish mæslinger (“measles”), Icelandic mislingar (“measles”) and Norwegian Nynorsk meslingar, 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, page 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 et al., Survey of English Dialects, volume III, page 832:

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

References

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