English Explanatory Dictionary

pox

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
  2. Syphilis.
  3. A curse.
verb
  1. To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

Pronunciation

/pɑks/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pox.wav

Word forms

pox poxes poxing poxed

Etymology

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.

Derived words

antipox a pox on buffalopox camelpox canarypox carp pox chicken pox cottonpox cowpox fowlpox French pox goatpox great-pox hog pox hornpox horsepox horse-pox kine-pox milkpox monkey pox monkeypox monkey-pox mousepox orthopox parapox plum pox pox doctor's clerk poxless poxlike pox party poxviral poxvirus poxy pseudopox rabbitpox raccoonpox rickettsialpox scrumpox sealpox sheeppox skunk pox smallpox squirrelpox swinepox Tanapox turkeypox volepox wartpox water pox whitepox

Translations

Bulgarian: шарка Catalan: buba Chinese Mandarin: 痘 Czech: neštovice Finnish: rokko Finnish: rokkotauti French: vérole French: variole French: petite vérole Ingrian: ruikko Japanese: 痘瘡 Latin: variola Persian: آبله Polish: ospa Portuguese: varíola Russian: о́спа Serbo-Croatian: boginje Vietnamese: đậu
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