noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An ailment caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), leading to lethargy and organ complications. uncountable, usually
2. 2
   avitaminosis caused by lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

anemiaariboflavinosiscachexiachlorosisdeficiency anemiadermatitis

Etymology

Possibly borrowed from Sinhalese phrase බැරි බැරි (bæri bæri, “I cannot, I cannot”) due to weakness.

Related phrases

aberic aciddry beriberiwet beriberiathlete's foot

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.