Definitions

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

  • noun A noncontagious inflammatory skin disease characterized by recurring reddish patches covered with silvery scales.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A chronic non-contagious skin-disease, characterized by reddish, slightly elevated, dry patches of varying size, shape, and number, covered with whitish or grayish imbricated scales.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete The state of being affected with psora.
  • noun A cutaneous disease, characterized by imbricated silvery scales, affecting only the superficial layers of the skin.

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

  • noun pathology A noncontagious disease whose main symptom is gray or silvery flaky patches on the skin which are red and inflamed underneath when scratched.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a chronic skin disease characterized by dry red patches covered with scales; occurs especially on the scalp and ears and genitalia and the skin over bony prominences

Etymologies

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

[Greek psōriāsis, itch, mange, from psōriān, to have the itch, from psōrā, itch.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ψωρίασις, from ψώρα ("itch") (English psora) + -σις (-sis, "nouns of action") (English -sis).

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Examples

  • Galen (133-200 AD) first utilized the term psoriasis, but his description was not consistent with the disorder that we now call psoriasis.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2008

  • In his books, Gibert (1797-1866) used the term psoriasis, recognized secondary syphilis as a contagious entity, and established pityriasis rosea as a clinical syndrome.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2008

  • Although he used the term psoriasis, his description is now believed to most likely represent seborrheic dermatitis.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2008

  • For decades after Willan's description, some authors favored using the term psoriasis, while others chose the term lepra.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2008

  • FYI, I really struggled with either short-term psoriasis or ezcema last year.

    Random Bits and Pieces Zombie Mom 2009

  • Guttate psoriasis (comes out of a Latin word Gutta that means drop), small, teardrop-shaped lesion appears on the limbs, trunk, and scalp and is generally frequently caused by upper respiratory infections (e.g.: a sore throat due to streptococcal germs).

    MyLinkVault Newest Links 2009

  • Physicians lacked clarity regarding the word psoriasis and the ability to distinguish psoriasis from diseases with similar cutaneous manifestations.

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  • You may know me from my time on Saturday Night Live, for my roles in various films including A League of Their Own, The Wedding Singer and, most recently, Casino Jack or for my jaw-dropping good looks, but what you probably don't know is that I've been living with a chronic skin condition called psoriasis for more than 10 years.

    Jon Lovitz: Seriously, I Have Psoriasis! Jon Lovitz 2011

  • You may know me from my time on Saturday Night Live, for my roles in various films including A League of Their Own, The Wedding Singer and, most recently, Casino Jack or for my jaw-dropping good looks, but what you probably don't know is that I've been living with a chronic skin condition called psoriasis for more than 10 years.

    Jon Lovitz: Seriously, I Have Psoriasis! Jon Lovitz 2011

  • The waters of the Dead Sea have been shown to provide benefits to those who suffer with the skin condition known as psoriasis.

    Ronen Paldi: Looking to Relax? How About Visiting a Centuries-Old Health Spa? Ronen Paldi 2011

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