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Vinony

pox

noun

  1. variety of diseases causing skin eruptions
  2. curse (figuratively)
L15684 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /pɑks/

noun

Etymology: From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock. The curse sense involves metonymy: wishing a literal pox upon someone is the original form of pox-relevant curse, and the word pox itself also came to mean curse.

  1. A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
  2. A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
  3. A curse.

    “a pox on all their houses”

    “A pox on him, he's a cat still.”

verb

Etymology: From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock. The curse sense involves metonymy: wishing a literal pox upon someone is the original form of pox-relevant curse, and the word pox itself also came to mean curse.

  1. To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

    “Jack had a moſt ſcandalous tongue, and perſuaded Peg that all mankind, beſides himſelf, were pox'd by that ſcarlet-faced whore, †Signiora Bubonia. “As for his brother Lord Peter, the tokens were evident on him, blotches, ſcabs, and the corona. […]””