scabies

[ skey-beez, -bee-eez ]
See synonyms for scabies on Thesaurus.com
noun(used with a singular verb)Pathology, Veterinary Pathology.
  1. a contagious skin disease occurring especially in sheep and cattle and also in humans, caused by the itch mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, which burrows under the skin.: Compare itch (def. 10), mange.

Origin of scabies

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin scabiēs “roughness, itch,” from scabere “to scratch, scrape”; see also shave

Other words from scabies

  • sca·bi·et·ic [skey-bee-et-ik], /ˌskeɪ biˈɛt ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby scabies

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scabies in a sentence

  • The men who went to the “scabies” hospital, at Bourmont, of whom there was a considerable number, were the ones who had the rest.

    Battery E in France | Frederic R. Kilner
  • This disease is very contagious, and is much more resistant than the ordinary scabies.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology | William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for scabies

scabies

/ (ˈskeɪbiːz, -bɪˌiːz) /


noun
  1. a contagious skin infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, characterized by intense itching, inflammation, and the formation of vesicles and pustules

Origin of scabies

1
C15: from Latin: scurf, from scabere to scratch; see shave

Derived forms of scabies

  • scabietic (ˌskeɪbɪˈɛtɪk), adjective

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