king's evil
noun
scrofula: so called because it was supposed to be curable by the touch of the reigning sovereign.
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Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of king's evil
1350–1400; Middle English kynges evel
Words nearby king's evil
king's color, King's Counsel, king's crown, king's English, king's evidence, king's evil, Kingsford-Smith, king's highway, kingship, kingside, king-size
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
British Dictionary definitions for king's evil
Word Origin for king's evil
C14: from the belief that the king's touch would heal scrofula
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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