SMALLPOX Definition & Meaning

smallpox

[ smawl-poks ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Pathology.

an acute, highly contagious, febrile disease, caused by the variola virus, and characterized by a pustular eruption that often leaves permanent pits or scars: eradicated worldwide by vaccination programs.

smallpox

/ ˈ��ɔː��ˌ��ɒ�� /

noun

an acute highly contagious viral disease characterized by high fever, severe prostration, and a pinkish rash changing in form from papules to pustules, which dry up and form scabs that are cast off, leaving pitted depressions Technical namevariola variolous

smallpox

/ ��ô��′��ŏ��′ /

A highly infectious and often fatal disease caused by the variola virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus and characterized by fever, headache, and severely inflamed skin sores that result in extensive scarring. Once a dreaded killer of children that caused the deaths of millions of Native Americans after the arrival of European settlers in the Americas, smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 following a worldwide vaccination campaign. Samples of the virus have been preserved in laboratories in the United States and Russia.
Also called variola
See Note at Jenner

smallpox

An acute and infectious disease caused by a virus and now almost completely eradicated. Smallpox was characterized by high fever and large sores on the body that leave scars.

Discover More

Notes

Today, the smallpox virus exists only in laboratories.

A surface with many blemishes is sometimes said to be “pockmarked” because it resembles the skin of a smallpox sufferer.

The use of smallpox is a major concern in the area of bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism ).

Smallpox is the first disease of humans to be completely eradicated by a worldwide campaign of inoculation .

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of smallpox¹

First recorded in 1510–20; small + pox

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of smallpox¹

C16: from small + pox . So called to distinguish it from the Great Pox, an archaic name for syphilis

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication,” the statement said.

From

The current wave of scepticism is the latest rekindling of an angry debate going back to the dawn of vaccination in 1796 when Edward Jenner created the smallpox vaccine.

From

Prince Baltasar Carlos, Philip’s only son and likely heir to all the king’s dominions, had died at 16, apparently a smallpox victim.

From

Health workers use a so-called bifurcated needle that’s dipped into the vaccine solution, the same way the smallpox vaccine was administered.

From

The vast majority of health experts champion inoculations for their long history of success - guarding against dangerous diseases and even eradicating deadly smallpox.

From

Browse