n. a contagious venereal disease progressing from infection of the genitals via the skin and mucous membrane to the bones, muscles, and brain. syphilitic adj. syphilize v.tr. (also -ise). syphiloid adj.
[ mod.L f. title (Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus) of a Latin poem (1530), f. Syphilus, a character in it, the supposed first sufferer from the disease ]