Syph"i*lis (?), n. [NL.,
fr. Syphilus, the name of a shepherd
in the Latin poem of
Fracastoro, "Syphilus, sive Morbus Gallicus," which was published in 1530; Gr. &?; hog, swine + &?; dear, loving. The term was introduced into nosology by Sauvages.]
(Med.) The pox, or venereal disease; a chronic, specific, infectious disease, usually communicated by
sexual intercourse or by hereditary transmission, and occurring
in three stages known as primary, secondary, and tertiary syphilis. See under Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.
Hear it pronounced