I. ˈpäks noun
( plural pox or poxes )
Etymology: alteration of pocks, plural of pock (I)
1.
a. : any of various virus diseases characterized by pustules or eruptions — usually used in combination
chicken pox
cow pox
fowl pox
b. archaic : smallpox
c. : syphilis — not often in formal use
most of them had a dose of clap or pox and some had a double dose — Bruce Siberts
2. : an afflictive rash : repellent cluster : plague
a pox of garish neon lights — Robert Cahn
a pox of jeering urchins — New Yorker
the world … is covered by a pox of danger spots — New York Times
— often used interjectionally
a pox on the girl — Virginia Woolf
3.
a. : a disease of sweet potatoes caused by actinomycetes of the genus Streptomyces and characterized by pitted lesions on the roots or tubers — called also soil rot
b. : storage spot
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
archaic : to infect with a pox and especially with syphilis