French disease
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French disease
Where it comes from
The full explanation of why syphilis was called the French disease as a calque across various languages involves a 1495 outbreak involving French soldiers (more in Wikipedia at History of syphilis); but it is also true that this term is one of several that blame othered ethnicities for distasteful and unseemly things.
proper noun the French disease
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Syphilis.
Although the Inquisition trials dealing with the French disease are few in number, the cases provide competing opinions about the cause of illness, thereby providing some insights into how the categories of natural and supernatural[…]
Similar: French pox, French gout
Translations
Every language
name syphilis
| Español | mal francés |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 당옴 dang'om |
| Français | mal de Naples, mal italien, gale de Naples |
| Deutsch | Franzosenkrankheit |
Talk about this word "French disease." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/french%20disease. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. French disease. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/french%20disease "French disease." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/french%20disease.Cite this
@misc{french_disease_2026,
title = {French disease},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/french%20disease},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
