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Icteric

Disease
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Affected by jaundice or marked by a yellowish cast. It suggests sickness made visible in skin, eyes, or light.

Detailed Definition
Icteric derives from icterus, a term for jaundice, and it can describe both a diseased body and a yellow, unhealthy visual atmosphere. A poet may give an icteric hue to dawn, lamplight, smoke, or a dying face, allowing color to register illness without direct explanation. Because yellow can imply decay, bitterness, and corruption, the word may connect physical disease to an emotionally poisoned or spiritually exhausted world.
Example
Example in poetry:
“An icteric moon hung yellow over the ward” uses the jaundiced color associated with icterus; “Through icteric windows, the city looked sick with gold” makes perception itself seem diseased; A poet may write, “His icteric eyes accused the spring of false brightness,” linking illness to altered vision; “Icteric leaves gathered in the gutter” gives autumn yellow a troubling, unhealthy cast
Additional Notes
Icteric literally refers to jaundice, but may describe a sickly yellow light or jaundiced outlook. Compare its visual force with sallow or bilious.
Also Known As
Jaundiced Icterical
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