# Anthrax: Odd name for a germ

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 3, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237 "2001-11-03T01:03:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/1 "2001-11-03T01:03:44Z")

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Why isn’t this called anthraxicocous, or something?

- Jinx

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/2 "2001-11-03T01:07:03Z")

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Anthrax is the name of the disease. The name of the bacteria that causes it is _Bacillus anthracis_.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/3 "2001-11-03T01:09:59Z")

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And anthrax is named from one of its symptoms:

Etymology: Middle English _antrax_ carbuncle, from Latin _anthrax_, from Greek, coal, carbuncle

(a carbuncle is a skin lesion like a boil)

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**Author:** ![Neurodoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neurodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurodoc)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/4 "2001-11-04T07:45:01Z")

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The disease (and the agent that causes it) was described in ancient times as “anthrax”, which is Greek for coal, because of the black color of the necrotic skin lesions caused by the cutaneous form of the disease.

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**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/5 "2001-11-04T17:16:08Z")

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Antrax has always sounded more like the name of a nerve gas or criminal orgianization than a disease. Heck, I thought it WAS a nerve gas until recently.

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**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/6 "2001-11-04T17:47:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Neurodoc \*  
> **The disease (and the agent that causes it) was described in ancient times as “anthrax”, which is Greek for coal…**

Ah… now I finally understand why the French call the disease “charbon”…

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**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-odd-name-for-a-germ/91237/7 "2001-11-04T18:26:45Z")

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What, it wasn’t named after the legendary Castle Anthrax?