How to Pronounce Legionnaires Disease
Definition, meaning, and phonetic spelling
Legionnaires Disease Pronunciation
lee-juh-NAIRZ dih-ZEEZ
Stressed syllable in ALL CAPS · hyphens separate syllables
Syllable Breakdown
lee
juh
NAIRZ dih
ZEEZ
stress here
4 syllables
What is Legionnaires Disease?
What is Legionnaires' Disease? Legionnaires' disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. The disease got its name when a group ...
Definition sourced from MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
Questions About Legionnaires Disease
How do you pronounce Legionnaires disease?
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Say it like this: "LEE-juh-NAIRZ dih-ZEEZ." The first part rhymes with "see," the middle part sounds like "uh," and "nairs" rhymes with "stairs." The second word is pronounced like "disease" in everyday English. The stress falls on the first syllable: LEE.
Which syllable do you stress when saying Legionnaires disease?
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Stress the first syllable: LEE-juh-NAIRZ. This is the heavy emphasis you put on that opening "lee" sound. Many people mistakenly stress the second syllable (luh-JUN-aires), but that's incorrect—the first syllable always gets the punch.
How do you break Legionnaires disease into syllables?
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Break it into five syllables: LEE-juh-NAIRZ dih-ZEEZ. The disease part is simple (two syllables), but the first word has three: LEE / juh / NAIRZ. Saying it slowly syllable by syllable can help you get the pronunciation right.
What does the word 'Legionnaires' come from?
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The word comes from "Legion"—a Roman military unit with many soldiers. The disease got its name because it first became famous after an outbreak at a large gathering of American Legion members in 1976. "Legionnaires" just means "members of a legion" or a large group of people.
What's a plain English way to describe Legionnaires disease?
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You can simply say it's a serious lung infection caused by bacteria. If you need to be less technical, you might call it "a type of pneumonia" or just use the full medical name. Most people recognize the name because of the 1976 outbreak that made it famous.
Is there a short abbreviation for Legionnaires disease?
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Yes, doctors sometimes call it "LD" for short. You'll also see it written as "Legionellosis," which is another medical name for the same condition. Both names are used in medical writing, though the full name Legionnaires disease is more common in everyday conversation.
What other medical words share the root 'Legionella'?
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The bacteria that causes this disease is called "Legionella" (pronounced "lee-juh-NEL-uh"), and the condition is sometimes called "Legionellosis" (lee-juh-nuh-LOW-sis). Both words come from the same source—the bacteria's scientific name—so they're closely related.
What's a common mispronunciation of Legionnaires disease?
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People often say "luh-JUN-aires" (stressing the wrong syllable) or "Lee-jon-AIRS" (changing the vowel sound). The correct way is LEE-juh-NAIRZ, with the stress on that first "LEE" sound and a short "uh" in the middle, not a hard "un" sound.