BYSSINOSIS

[bys.si.no.sis] n, pl -no.ses [NL, fr. L byssinus of fine linen, fr. Gk byssinos, fr. byssos] (1881): an occupational respiratory disease associated with inhalation of cotton, flax, or hemp dust and characterized initially by chest tightness, shortness of breath, and cough and eventually by irreversible lung disease