pox

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   dated, especially in the pox or great pox: syphilis

   The physician recognized the pox from symptoms described in the old casebook.

2. 2
   noun

   any of several infectious diseases marked by pustules or pocklike skin lesions, often named in compounds

   The livestock pox spread rapidly through the unvaccinated herd.

From pocks, the plural of Middle English pocke, 'pustule or eruptive disease.' The plural was reinterpreted as a singular mass noun. Great pox historically meant syphilis, while compounds such as smallpox, cowpox, and chickenpox name other eruptive diseases.

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