[Ads-l] "French pox" in the OED?

[Dave Wilton]

The citations under the separate sense at S2 appear to mostly be from medical sources. Perhaps the editors were distinguishing medical jargon from slang?



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Joel Berson
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 8:25 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "French pox" in the OED?

Why does the OED have (under "French adj. and n.") "4. In names given to venereal diseases, esp. syphilis" and separately (under S2) "French pox"?

Joel

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