Showing results for "yaws"

• present tense form of yaw (3rd person singular).

yaws

American  

[yawz] / jɔz /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. an infectious, nonvenereal tropical disease, primarily of children, characterized by raspberrylike eruptions of the skin and caused by a spirochete, Treponema pertenue, that is closely related to the agent of syphilis.

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yaws British  

/ jɔːz /

noun

1. Also called: framboesia.  (usually functioning as singular) an infectious nonvenereal disease of tropical climates with early symptoms resembling syphilis, characterized by red skin eruptions and, later, pain in the joints: it is caused by the spiral bacterium Treponema pertenue

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yaws Scientific  

/ yôz /

1. A highly contagious tropical disease that chiefly affects children, caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue and characterized by raspberrylike sores, especially on the hands, feet, and face.

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Etymology

Origin of yaws

From Carib, dating back to 1670–80; see origin at -s ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yaws

Each causes a different disease: syphilis, yaws, and bejel.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2026

For example, we find examples of enslaved Africans who hailed from present-day Ghana describing inoculations for yaws, another contagious flesh disorder.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2023

In the trial, involving 56,000 people in Papua New Guinea, that regimen reduced yaws prevalence by 65%.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 12, 2022

"The purpose of the campaign will be the eradication of yaws from the community, not merely its reduction to some ill-defined low endemic level," another wrote.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 19, 2018

The truck yaws like a ship at sea as Neumann One coaxes it over ruts.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr