syphilis

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a sexually transmitted bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum that can progress through several stages if untreated

   Syphilis can be cured with antibiotics, but untreated infection may damage the nervous system and other organs.

From New Latin Syphilis, the title of Girolamo Fracastoro's 1530 poem about a shepherd named Syphilus who was afflicted with the disease after offending Apollo. The character's name became the medical name of the infection.

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