ˈanˌthraks, ˈaan- noun
( plural anthra·ces -nthrəˌsēz)
Etymology: Middle English antrax carbuncle, from Latin anthrax, from Greek, coal, charcoal, carbuncle; perhaps akin to Armenian ant'eł glowing coal
1. archaic : a carbuncle or malignant pustule
2. : an infectious disease of warm-blooded animals (as cattle and sheep) caused by a spore-forming bacterium ( Bacillus anthracis ), transmissible from animals to man especially by the handling of infected animal products (as hair), and characterized by external ulcerating nodules or by lesions in the lungs
3. : the bacterium causing anthrax (sense 2)