POX

pox

(noun) a contagious disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pock marks

syphilis, syph, pox, lues venerea, lues

(noun) a common venereal disease caused by the treponema pallidum spirochete; symptoms change through progressive stages; can be congenital (transmitted through the placenta)

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

pox (countable and uncountable, plural poxes)

A disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pockmarks.

Syphilis.

(figurative) A curse.

Verb

pox (third-person singular simple present poxes, present participle poxing, simple past and past participle poxed)

(transitive, dated) To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

Source: Wiktionary


Pox, n. Etym: [For pocks, OE. pokkes. See Pock. It is plural in form but is used as a singular.] (Med.)

Definition: Strictly, a disease by pustules or eruptions of any kind, but chiefly or wholly restricted to three or four diseases, -- the smallpox, the chicken pox, and the vaccine and the venereal diseases.

Note: Pox, when used without an epithet, as in imprecations, formerly signified smallpox; but it now signifies syphilis.

Pox, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poxed; p. pr. & vb. n. Poxing.]

Definition: To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee shop is the Al Masaa Café, which has 1,050 seats. The coffee shop was inaugurated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 13 August 2014.

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