noun
Dated colloquial term for cholera, based on a pun combining コレラ (cholera) and ころりと死ぬ (to die suddenly). Used in historical or period contexts.
江戸時代には、コロリと呼ばれた病が流行した。
In the Edo period, a disease called korori spread.
"Korori" is an old colloquial name for cholera, coming from the idea of suddenly collapsing and dying.
Katakana spelling is common for this dated pun word; the kanji form 虎狼痢 is ateji and rarely used.
Ateji (phonetic) kanji form; rarely used and marked as such.
A pun on コレラ (cholera) and the adverb ころり (suddenly), from the phrase ころりと死ぬ (to die suddenly). The kanji 虎狼痢 is ateji.