pox
noun
a common venereal disease caused by the Treponema pallidum spirochete; symptoms change through progressive stages; can be congenital (transmitted through the placenta)
a contagious disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pock marks
Origin
From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock. The curse sense involves metonymy: wishing a literal pox upon someone is the original form of pox-relevant curse, and the word pox itself also came to mean curse.
Phrases
- a pox on
- carp pox
- chicken pox
- French pox
- hog pox
- monkey pox
- plum pox
- pox doctor's clerk
Related words
Broader terms
Narrower terms
Part of
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.