n.
Pronunciation: ' kä-l ə -r ə
Function: noun
Etymology: L
Date: 1601
: any of several diseases of humans and domestic animals usually marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms especially : an acute diarrheal disease caused by an enterotoxin produced by a comma-shaped gram-negative bacillus ( Vibrio cholerae syn. V. comma ) when it is present in large numbers in the proximal part of the human small intestine