English▸ noun [mass noun] a form of the disease leishmaniasis marked by emaciation, anaemia, fever, and enlargement of the liver and spleen.
This is caused by Leishmania donovani, phylum Kinetoplastida, kingdom Protista.
– ORIGIN late 19th century: from Assamese, from kālā ‘black’ + āzār ‘disease’ (because of the bronzing of the skin often associated with it).