Mea'sles, n. pl.
(mē'zlz), n. pl. [D. mazelen, Ger. masern, pl., from mase, masel, maser, a speck, speckle, spot, a knot in trees, grain or vein in wood, O. H. Ger. māsa, masar, masor, maser.]
Sense 1. Leprosy. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Sense 2. (Med.) A contagious febrile disorder, commencing with catarrhal symptoms, and marked by the appearance on the third day of an eruption of distinct red circular spots, which coalesce in a crescentic form, are slightly raised above the surface, and after the fourth day of the eruption gradually decline.
Sense 3. A disease of swine arising from an impure state of the blood.
Sense 4. A disease of trees.