pox

Etymology

From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock.

noun

  1. A disease characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pockmarks.
  2. Syphilis.
  3. (figurative) A curse.

verb

  1. (transitive, dated) To infect with the pox, or syphilis.
    Jack had a moſt ſcandalous tongue, and perſuaded Peg that all mankind, beſides himſelf, were pox'd by that ſcarlet-faced whore, †Signiora Bubonia. “As for his brother Lord Peter, the tokens were evident on him, blotches, ſcabs, and the corona. […]” [1750?], Dr. [John] Arbuthnot, “The History of John Bull: Part II, Chapter III”, in The History of John Bull [by Dr. Arbuthnot]. And Poems on ſeveral Occasions by Dr. Jonathan Swift, with Several Miſcellaneous Pieces, by Dr. Swift and Mr. Pope, London: D. Midwinter, A. Tonson, page 60

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