4H disease

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

4H disease

Where it comes from

Coined in 1981 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since the then newly-discovered disease seemed to affect mainly the "four H's": homosexuals, heroin users, hemophiliacs, and Haitians.

noun 4-H disease

dated, offensive, uncountable Synonym of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). 2022, Rinaldo F. Canalis, Massimo Ciavolella, Valeria Finucci, Rethinking Medical Humanities Dr. Peter Piot a Belgian physician noticed that among patients who came from Africa there were as many women as men suffering from the “4H disease.”
Similar: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS, 4H disease, gay cancer, gay plague, gay-related immunodeficiency, GRID

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"4H disease." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/4h%20disease. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

4H disease. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/4h%20disease

Chicago

"4H disease." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/4h%20disease.

BibTeX

@misc{4h_disease_2026,
  title = {4H disease},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/4h%20disease},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}