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Definition of: blackleg
(blak′leg′) noun
1. An acute, infectious, often fatal disease of young cattle, caused by an anaerobic bacterium (Clostridium chauvoei) and characterized by fever and loss of appetite accompanied by swellings or tumors under the skin.
2. An injurious disease of cabbage and other cruciferous plants; also, a bacterial rot of potatoes.
3. A professional swindler or gambler; a cheat; sharper.
4. Brit. Colloq. A strikebreaker.
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