syph‧i‧lis /ˈsɪf
ələs, ˈsɪf
əlɪs/
noun [uncountable][
Date: 1700-1800;
Language: Modern Latin;
Origin: Syphilus, main character in the 16th-century poem Syphilis sive Morbus Gallicus 'Syphilis or the French disease' by Girolamo Fracastoro]
a very serious disease that is passed from one person to another during sexual activity
—syphilitic /ˌsɪfəˈlɪtɪk◂, ˌsɪfɪˈlɪtɪk◂/
adjective [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲