French disease

English

Etymology

So called because it was spread by returning French troops in mediaeval times.

Noun

French disease (uncountable)

1. (dated, euphemistic) Syphilis.
   • 2010 November 30, L. McGough, Gender, Sexuality, and Syphilis in Early Modern Venice: The Disease that Came to Stay, Springer, →ISBN, page 88:

     Although the Inquisition trials dealing with the French disease are few in number, the cases provide competing opinions about the cause of illness, thereby providing some insights into how the categories of natural and supernatural […]

Translations

syphilis

• French: mal de Naples (fr) m (Neapolitan malady), mal italien (fr) m (Italian malady), gale de Naples (fr) f (Neapolitan scabies) (all archaic)
• German: Franzosenkrankheit (de) f (French disease) (dated)
• Spanish: mal francés (es) m (French malady)