pox

[ poks ]

/ pɒks /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pox ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Pathology.

a disease characterized by multiple skin pustules, as smallpox.

Also called soil rot. Plant Pathology. a disease of sweet potatoes, characterized by numerous pitlike lesions on the roots, caused by a fungus, Streptomyces ipomoea.

(used as an interjection to express distaste, rejection, aversion, etc.): A pox on you and your bright ideas!

Nearby words

Origin of pox

1540–50 (earlier as surname); spelling variant of pocks, plural of pock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pox

For example, though I had chicken pox decades ago, I still have antibody to chicken pox.
The ‘HIV-Cured Baby’ Distorts Hope|Kent Sepkowitz|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Libertarians, of course, have grimly wished a pox on both their houses of Congress.
Big Brother Is Watching Your Cell Phone|Megan McArdle|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The darkness of the new fear followed him out of the room, and the name of it was Pox.
Wilderness of Spring|Edgar Pangborn
A pox o your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!
The Tempest|William Shakespeare

I saie the pox, as by experience we se there is no better remedy than sweatyng and the drinkyng of guaiacum, etc.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton
The first original English writer on the pox was William Clowes.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton
These were simply 'A Pox take it', the curse being supposed to take effect at once.
The Witch-cult in Western Europe|Margaret Alice Murray

British Dictionary definitions for pox

pox

/ (pɒks) /

noun

any disease characterized by the formation of pustules on the skin that often leave pockmarks when healed

the pox an informal name for syphilis

a pox on someone (interjection) archaic an expression of intense disgust or aversion for someone

Word Origin for pox

C15: changed from pocks, plural of pock

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pox

pox

late 15c., spelling alteration of pockes, plural of pocke (see pock (n.)). Especially (after c.1500) of syphilis.

Medicine definitions for pox

pox

[ pŏks ]

n.

A disease such as chickenpox or smallpox, characterized by purulent skin eruptions that may leave pockmarks.

Syphilis.