a serious, sometimes fatal, infection, caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila, which has symptoms similar to those of pneumonia: believed to be spread by inhalation of contaminated water vapour from showers and air-conditioning plants
Word origin
C20: after the outbreak at a meeting of the American Legion at Philadelphia in 1976
Legionnaires' disease in American English
US
an acute respiratory infection, often resulting in pneumonia, caused by bacteria (Legionella pneumophila) that may contaminate water or soil
Word origin
after an outbreak of the illness at an American Legion convention in July, 1976