leprosy

Meaning

1. (uncountable, usually) 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.
2. (proscribed, uncountable, usually) Similar contagious skin diseases causing light patches of scaly skin, particularly psoriasis, syphilis, vitiligo, scabies, and (biblical) the various diseases considered "tzaraath" in the Old Testament.
3. (figuratively, uncountable, usually) Anything considered similarly permanent, harmful, and communicable, particularly when such a thing should be handled by avoidance or isolation of its victims.
4. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable, usually) A contagious disease causing similar effects in animals, particularly
5. (obsolete, uncountable, usually) A contagious disease causing similar effects in animals, particularly
6. (obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually) Synonym of leprosarium: a place for the housing of lepers in isolation from the rest of society.

Synonyms

Hansen’s disease

scabies

lepra

mange

leper

Hansen's disease

dandruff

lepriasis

leprosis

herpes

alphosis

elephantiasis graecorum

lepra graecorum

lepra borealis

peripheral nerves

epidemic

itch

mercy

skin disease

HD

Translations

lèpre

Lepra

lepra

lebbra

Aussatz

lepra

lepra

melaatsheid

lepra

λέπρα

جذام

lepra

maladie de Hansen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlɛpɹəsi/

Etymology

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.