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Added 9 October 2026

pox

/pɑks/ symbol

In Latin: variola Wiktionary

symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pox at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

ISO 639-3 language code for Polabian.

noun

A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
Syphilis.
A curse.
a pox on all their houses

verb

To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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