syphilis
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
syphilis/ˈsɪfɪlɪs/
▶noun a sexually transmitted bacterial disease, progressing if untreated from infection of the genitals via the skin and mucous membranes to the bones, muscles, and brain.
– derivatives
syphilitic adjective & noun.
syphilitic adjective & noun.
– origin C18: mod. L., from Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus, the title of a poem (1530), from the name of the character Syphilus, the supposed first sufferer of the disease.
'syphilis' also found in these Oxford entries:
arsphenamine
- condyloma
- general paralysis of the insane
- gumma
- lues
- paresis
- pox
- roseola
- spirochaete
- treponeme
