leprosies

Noun

leprosy (usually uncountable, plural leprosies)

1. (usually) An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, gradually producing nerve damage and patches of skin necrosis and historically handled by permanently quarantining its sufferers.
   • Then is it surely a leprosy1535, Myles Coverdale, Bible, Lev. 8:3

   Synonyms:

   Hansensiasis, Hansen's disease, lepra, mesel, measles, elephantiasis, Greek elephantiasis, Greek leprosy, Greek lepra, leprosity

2. (dated, proscribed, usually) Similar contagious skin diseases causing light patches of scaly skin, particularly psoriasis, syphilis, vitiligo, scabies, and (biblical) the various diseases considered "tzaraath" in the Old Testament.
3. (figuratively, usually) Anything considered similarly permanent, harmful, and communicable, particularly when such a thing should be handled by avoidance or isolation of its victims.
   • Sin is a spiritual leprosy.
4. (obsolete, usually, veterenary medicine) Synonym of mange and glanders in horses.

   Synonyms:

   mange and glanders in horses

5. (obsolete, rare, usually) Synonym of leprosarium: a place for the housing of lepers in isolation from the rest of society.

   Synonyms:

   leprosarium