three days’ sickness, noun phrase

Forms:
Also three day sickness.
Origin:
See quotation 1909.
Pathology
A short-lived viral disease of cattle which is characterized by muscular pain and stiffness; styfsiekte sense 1 c. Also three days’ disease, three-day stiffness.
1909 Cape of G.H. Agric. Jrnl Aug. 145 (Pettman)The scientific term, Ephemeral fever, as well as the lay term Three days’ sickness, are both somewhat appropriate, as in the great majority of cases the disease quickly runs its course and all acute symptoms have disappeared at the end of three days.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 497Three days’ sickness, A sickness of short duration affecting cattle; it is sometimes called Stijfziekte.
1937 S. Cloete Turning Wheels 143Three day sickness, which as a rule animals recover from if left alone, meant abandoning beasts since there was no time to wait for them to recover.
1970 Cape Times 27 MayShe checks the cattle out of their pens and looks for signs of heart-water, gall sickness or three-day stiffness.
1974 E. Prov. Herald 27 Feb. 4Diseases like blue tongue, red water, gall sickness, three days’ disease and horse sickness, which are carried by insects or ticks, would probably occur fairly wide-spread this year because of the rain.
A short-lived viral disease of cattle which is characterized by muscular pain and stiffness; styfsiekte sense 1 c. Also three days’ disease, three-day stiffness.
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19091974

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thornwood, nounn.three-legged, participial adjectivepart. adj.
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