Wiktionary

purple death

English edit

Etymology edit

purple +‎ death. From cyanosis due to difficulty breathing, which would turn the skin purple.[1][2][3][4]

Noun edit

purple death (uncountable)

  1. (pathology, historical, dated) Synonym of Spanish influenza

References edit

  1. ^ Sheboygan Press, "Sheboygan was struck by 1918 flu", Beth Dippel, 28 November 2014
  2. ^ The Kansas City Star, "A coronavirus lesson? How KC’s response to 1918 flu pandemic caused needless death", Eric Adler, 15 March 2020
  3. ^ The Times News (Leighton), "Spanish flu of 1918-19 was deadlier than wars", Jim Zbick, 30 March 2020
  4. ^ Holt, "Purple Death: The Mysterious Flu of 1918", David Getz, 2000, →ISBN.
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