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.
a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum. Usu. tretable with penicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics.
© Webster 1913.