Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cholera \Chol"er*a\, n. [L., a bilious disease. See {Choler}.]
   (Med.)
   One of several diseases affecting the digestive and
   intestinal tract and more or less dangerous to life, esp. the
   one commonly called Asiatic cholera.

   {Asiatic cholera}, a malignant and rapidly fatal disease,
      originating in Asia and frequently epidemic in the more
      filthy sections of other lands, to which the germ or
      specific poison may have been carried. It is characterized
      by diarrhea, rice-water evacuations, vomiting, cramps,
      pinched expression, and lividity, rapidly passing into a
      state of collapse, followed by death, or by a stage of
      reaction of fever.

   {Cholera bacillus}. See {Comma bacillus}.

   {Cholera infantum}, a dangerous summer disease, of infants,
      caused by hot weather, bad air, or poor milk, and
      especially fatal in large cities.

   {Cholera morbus}, a disease characterized by vomiting and
      purging, with gripings and cramps, usually caused by
      imprudence in diet or by gastrointestinal disturbance.

   {Chicken cholera}. See under {Chicken}.

   {Hog cholera}. See under {Hog}.

   {Sporadic cholera}, a disease somewhat resembling the Asiatic
      cholera, but originating where it occurs, and rarely
      becoming epidemic.

Source : WordNet®

cholera
     n : an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of
         contaminated water or food [syn: {Asiatic cholera}, {Indian
         cholera}, {epidemic cholera}]