koorts

From Middle Dutch coorts, corts, curts. Related to Middle Low German korts (“fever”), possibly abbreviated from a phrase containing korts (“short”), from Middle High German kurz. An indirect relationship with kool (“coal”) has been suggested, via Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- (“burn, shine”); compare Sanskrit ज्वलति (jválati, “burn brightly, blaze”) and जूर्ति (jūrti, “fever”). But this is quite speculative as all Germanic derivatives of this root have the sense of "coal", and it is formally unlikely.

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