Phrase guide

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • UK: /ˈbəʊ̯.vaɪ̯n ˈspʌn.d͡ʒɪ.fɔːm ɛn.sə.fəˈlɒ.pə.θɪ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which is transmissible to humans through misshaped prion proteins, caused by eating infected tissues.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: medicine, neurology, neuroscience, pathology, sciences

Examples

  • The outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) have limited some traditional uses of cattle for food, for example the eating of brains or spinal cords.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mad cow disease

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: جُنُون اَلْبَقَر (junūn al-baqar) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Basque: behien entzefalpatia espongiforme — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Basque: behi eroen gaitza — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Catalan: encefalopatia espongiforme bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Chinese: siáu-gû-pēn — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 牛海绵状脑病 (niúhǎimiánzhuàngnǎobìng) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 疯牛病 (fēngniúbìng) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Cornish: kleves ympynnyon spongek an bughes — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Czech: nemoc šílených krav — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Czech: bovinní spongiformní encefalopatie — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Danish: kogalskab — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Danish: bse — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Dutch: dollekoeienziekte — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Dutch: gekkekoeienziekte — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Dutch: boviene spongiforme encefalopathie — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Esperanto: Bova Spongoforma Encefalopatio — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Esperanto: malsano de bova freneziĝo — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Esperanto: bovofreneziĝo — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Finnish: naudan spongiforminen enkefalopatia — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Finnish: hullun lehmän tauti — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • French: encéphalopathie spongiforme bovine — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Galician: encefalopatía esponxiforme bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Galician: enfermidade das vacas tolas — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • German: Bovine Spongiforme Enzephalopathie — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • German: Rinderwahnsinn — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Greek: σπογγώδης εγκεφαλοπάθεια των βοοειδών (spongódis egkefalopátheia ton vooeidón) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Icelandic: kúariða — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Indonesian: penyakit sapi gila — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Interlingua: Encephalopathia spongiforme bovin — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Irish: einceifealapaite spúinseach bhólachta — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Irish: galar na bó mire — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Italian: encefalopatia spongiforme bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Japanese: 牛海綿状脳症 (ushi kaimenjō nōshō) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Korean: 광우병 (gwang'ubyeong) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Latin: encephalopathia spongiformis bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Lithuanian: galvijų kempiškoji encefalopatija — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Lithuanian: kempinligė — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Malay: Penyakit lembu gila — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Malay: penyakit lembu gila — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Malayalam: ബൊവൈൻ സ്പോഞ്ചിഫോം എൻസഫലോപതി (bovaiṉ spōñciphōṁ eṉsaphalōpati) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Malayalam: ഭ്രാന്തിപ്പശുരോഗം (bhrāntippaśurōgaṁ) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Norwegian: kugalskap — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Polish: gąbczasta encefalopatia bydła — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Polish: chorobą szalonych krów — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Portuguese: encefalopatia espongiforme bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Romanian: encefalopatie spongiformă bovină — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Russian: коро́вье бе́шенство (koróvʹje béšenstvo) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Russian: губчатая энцефалопатия крупного рогатого скота (gubčataja encefalopatija krupnovo rogatovo skota) — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Slovak: choroba šialených kráv — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Spanish: encefalopatía espongiforme bovina — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Welsh: Enseffalopathi Sbyngffurf Buchol — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Welsh: Ymenyddglwyf Sbungfurff Gwartheg — bovine spongiform encephalopathy
  • Welsh: Clefyd y Gwartheg Gwallgof — bovine spongiform encephalopathy