venereal diseases

Cultural  

1. Sexually transmitted diseases; these diseases are named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

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Example Sentences

The historian AJP Taylor said cattily that free treatment for venereal diseases was “the only innovation in ‘welfare’ directly attributable to the first world war”.

From The Guardian • Nov. 11, 2018

The boy, a brilliant student, attended schools in Vienna, including Sigmund Freud’s old “gymnasium,” and summered in Sofia, Bulgaria, where his father specialized in treating venereal diseases before penicillin.

From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2015

World War II fervor and the excitement over penicillin, then a scarce, new drug, contributed to the rush to test this promising medicine against venereal diseases that commonly afflicted soldiers.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2011

Mrs. Virginia D. Virgin has charge of the campaign to suppress venereal diseases in West Virginia.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another example of futile legislation is the California law requiring the reporting of cases of venereal diseases.

From The Social Emergency Studies in Sex Hygiene and Morals by Foster, William Trufant