Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An acute contagious disease, primarily of children, that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus and characterized by skin eruptions, slight fever, and malaise.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology A common childhood disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpes virus 3 (HHV-3).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps in allusion to the mildness of the disease as contrasted with smallpox.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

chicken +‎ pox

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word chickenpox.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.