急性传染性发热，通常伴有严重虚弱、谵妄和小红点，1785年首次使用，源自医学拉丁语，进一步追溯至希腊语 typhos，意为“由发热引起的昏迷”，字面意思是“烟”，来自 typhein，意为“冒烟”，与 typhos（“盲目”）、typhon（“旋风”）相关。比基斯拒绝了沃特金斯提出的从原始印欧语词根 *dheu-（1）“尘土、蒸汽、烟雾”衍生的说法。
The Greek term [typhos] (smoke, mist, fog) was employed by Hippocrates to define a confused state of the intellect, with a tendency to stupor (stupor attonitus); and in this sense it is aptly applied to typhus fever with its slow cerebration and drowsy stupor. Boissier de Sauvages first (in 1760) called this fever "typhus," and the name was adopted by Cullen of Edinburgh in 1769. Previous to the time of de Sauvages typhus was known as "Pestilential" or "Putrid Fever," or by some name suggested by the eruption, or expressive of the locality in which it appeared, as "Camp," "Jail," "Hospital," or "Ship Fever" (Murchison). [Thomas Clifford, ed., "A System of Medicine," New York, 1897]
希腊词 typhos（烟、雾、霭）被希波克拉底用来形容一种智力混乱、易于昏迷的状态 (stupor attonitus)；因此，它恰当地应用于伤寒热，因为伤寒热患者思维迟缓、昏昏欲睡。博瓦西耶·德·索瓦热在1760年首次将这种热病称为“伤寒”，1769年爱丁堡的卡伦采纳了这个名称。在索瓦热之前，伤寒被称为“瘟疫性热”或“腐败热”，或者根据其皮疹的特征或出现地点的名称，如“营地热”、“监狱热”、“医院热”或“船上热”（默奇森）。[托马斯·克利福德主编，《医学体系》，纽约，1897年]
相关词：typhous（形容词）。为了区分，请参见 typhoid。
