pox
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
pox
- /pɑks/ US
Sounds like pocks · Rhymes with -ɒks
Where it comes from
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.
noun poxes
- A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
- Syphilis.
- A curse. a pox on all their houses
verb poxes · poxing · poxed
- 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. […]”
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: syphilis, syph, smallpox, plague, scarlatina, pestilence, fever, brat, foveation, pustulosis, sealpox, pustule, water pox, pimple, plague spot, papulosis
Translations
Talk about this word "pox." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pox. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pox. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pox "pox." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pox.Cite this
@misc{pox_2026,
title = {pox},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pox},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
