leper

American  

[lep-er] / ˈlɛp ər /

noun

lepers plural

1. a person who has leprosy.

2. a person who has been rejected or ostracized for unacceptable behavior, opinions, character, or the like; anathema; outcast.

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leper British  

/ ˈlɛpə /

noun

1. a person who has leprosy

2. derogatory a person who is ignored or despised

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Usage

What does leper mean? Leper is a word for a person who has leprosy, an infectious skin disease. Leprosy causes bumps and wounds on and under the skin that gradually spread and can cause muscle weakness, nerve damage, and paralysis. If not treated effectively, it can result in the loss of body parts and eventually death. Leprosy is also called Hansen’s disease, which is the name preferred by many medical professionals. It’s caused by a kind of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It can be cured with a treatment of antibiotics and other drugs. Cases of leprosy have been documented since ancient times. Due to its severe effects and contagiousness, many people who have had the disease throughout history have been stigmatized and treated as outcasts. Due to this stigma, the word leper came to be used in a more figurative way to mean an outcast or someone who is excluded, especially for behavior or opinions considered unacceptable, as in Ever since I expressed my opinion, I’ve been treated like a leper around here. However, both the figurative and literal senses of the word can be considered insensitive due to the fact that they can dehumanize those who have the disease. It is typically recommended to use a phrase like “a person with Hansen’s disease” instead of leper.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lepers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of leper

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lepre “leprosy,” from Latin lepra, from Greek lépra, noun use of feminine of leprós “scaly,” akin to lépos “scale,” lépein “to peel”

Explanation

The word leper was historically used to refer to someone who suffered from leprosy, a bacterial illness that affects the nerves, skin, and respiratory tract. Because leprosy was thought to be highly contagious, the word leper also came to be used more generally to mean "an outcast" or "a person to be avoided." Although it was originally used a medical term — the Greek root is lepros, "scaly" — today the word leper is generally considered to be offensive. In the Middle Ages, when there was no known treatment for leprosy, people with the disease were often quarantined in areas known as "leper colonies." These days, leper is more commonly used in a general way to refer to someone who is shunned by others: "Her friends treated her like a leper because they mistakenly thought she had been spreading rumors about them."

Example Sentences

I also want to talk about "New Test Leper," because reading the liner notes for the reissue, it was really striking to me how that was a song everyone really gravitated toward.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2021

Both her debut collection, “How to Escape From a Leper Colony,” and her subsequent novel, “Land of Love and Drowning,” dived deep into the Caribbean Sea, leaving us magnificently unmoored amid the U.S.

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2021

Tiphanie Yanique’s short-story collection, “How To Escape from a Leper Colony,” was published in 2010, and the author was included in the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” list that year.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 1, 2014

It also means that, when you step out of the Leper Chapel into the snowy gloom, reality is suspended for that much longer.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2013

A few of the fighters paused to yell a greeting at me, but no one broke off to ask about Leper.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles