Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun archaic
scrofula
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a form of tuberculosis characterized by swellings of the lymphatic glands
Etymologies
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From a popular belief that the King could cure the disease by touching the sufferer.
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Examples
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sionnach commented on the word king's evil
"Scrofula," 1387, translates M.L. regius morbus; so called because the kings of England and France claimed to heal it by their touch. In England, the custom dates from Edward the Confessor and was continued through the Stuarts (Charles II touched 90,798 sufferers) but was ended by the Hanoverians (1714).
October 23, 2008
trivet commented on the word king's evil
If I were king, I'd be inclined to have more of a no touchie policy, not being down with the sharing of scabrous lesions.
October 23, 2008