leprosy
pronunciation
How to pronounce leprosy in British English:
UK [ˈleprəsi]
How to pronounce leprosy in American English:
US [ˈlɛprəsi]
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- Noun:
- chronic granulomatous communicable disease occurring in tropical and subtropical regions; characterized by inflamed nodules beneath the skin and wasting of body parts; caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae
Word Origin
- leprosy (n.)
- 1530s (earlier lepruse, mid-15c.), from leprous; see leper. First used in Coverdale Bible, where it renders Hebrew cara'ath, which apparently was a comprehensive term for skin diseases. Because of pejorative associations, the use of the word in medical context has been banned by the World Health Organization and replaced by Hansen's disease (1938), named for Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen (1841-1912) who in 1871 discovered the bacillus that causes it.
Example
- 1. Scientists have discovered that generations of urban living develops resistance to tb , leprosy and other diseases
- 2. Then the researchers zeroed in on a gene variant that offers protection against diseases like tuberculosis or leprosy .
- 3. Spuds were variously thought to cause leprosy , to be fit only for animals , to be associated with the devil or to be poisonous .
- 4. Researchers discovered that people who have a history of living in more populated regions are more likely to have a genetic variant which gives them a resistance to diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy .
- 5. And I have a wooden comb with a decoration of woven wool made and sold by a tanzanian man who lost his fingers to leprosy but still found a way to make a living-weaving colored yarn with his stumps and his teeth .