Added 9 October 2026
leprosy
/ˈlɛpɹəsi/ noun
In Latin: lepra Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about leprosy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, gradually producing nerve damage and patches of skin necrosis and historically handled by permanently quarantining its sufferers.
- Similar contagious skin diseases causing light patches of scaly skin, particularly psoriasis, syphilis, vitiligo, scabies, and the various diseases considered "tzaraath" in the Old Testament.
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Anything considered similarly permanent, harmful, and communicable, particularly when such a thing should be handled by avoidance or isolation of its victims.
Sin is a spiritual leprosy.
Origin
From Norman leprosie, from Middle French leprosie (“leprosy & similar skin diseases”), probably from leprous (“leprous”) + -ie (“-y”) but possibly from Medieval Latin leprōsia (leprōsus + -ia) although this only historically attested in reference to leprosariums. The shift of sense from psoriasis to Hansen's disease occurred in large part from the use of λέπρα (lépra) to translate Hebrew צרעת (“tzaraath”) in the Septuagint and its subsequent use in the New Testament and Late Latin.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)