See Also:

pox (iou)



pox noun & verb. Also (earlier) pocks. LME.
[from POCK noun + -S1, with later alt. of consonants.]
A. noun.
I.
Usu. the pox. (Any of several diseases characterized by) a rash of pocks or eruptive pustules on the skin; esp. (now colloq.) a venereal disease, syphilis; formerly also spec., smallpox. LME.
chickenpox, cowpox, smallpox, etc. French pox: see FRENCH adjective. great pox: see GREAT adjective.
In imprecations expr. irritation or impatience. arch. slang. E16.
Clarendon Some said, 'a Pox take the House of Commons.' V. Woolf Hand me the mirror, girl...A pox on the girlshe's dreaming!
II. Pl. of POCK noun
Comb.: pox-doctor slang a doctor specializing in the treatment of venereal diseases; poxvirus any of a group of large DNA viruses that cause smallpox and similar infectious diseases in vertebrates.
b. verb trans. Infect with the pox (usu., with syphilis); ruin, botch (a piece of work). Freq. as poxed ppl adjective. colloq. L17.