syphilis(n = noun.state) lues, lues venerea, pox, syph - a common venereal disease caused by the treponema pallidum spirochete; symptoms change through progressive stages; can be congenital (transmitted through the placenta);
is a kind of cupid's disease, cupid's itch, dose, sexually transmitted disease, social disease, std, vd, venereal disease, venereal infection, venus's curse
has parts: chancre
has particulars: primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, tertiary syphilis, neurosyphilis
Derived form adjective syphilitic₁

   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. [1913 Webster]

syphilis, n. a contagious venereal disease progressing from infection of the genitals via the skin and mucous membrane to the bones, muscles, and brain.

Derivative:
syphilitic adj. syphilize v.tr. (also -ise). syphiloid adj.

Etymology:
mod.L f. title (Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus) of a Latin poem (1530), f. Syphilus, a character in it, the supposed first sufferer from the disease

primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, tertiary syphilis