King's evil
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 scrofula archaic, uncountable
"Suppose the person the matter is taken from, has the king's evil, the pox, madness, or some other inveterate disease — I am sure the inoculator can give no reason why it should not convey one distemper as well as the other."
- 2 a form of tuberculosis characterized by swellings of the lymphatic glands wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Suppose the person the matter is taken from, has the king's evil, the pox, madness, or some other inveterate disease — I am sure the inoculator can give no reason why it should not convey one distemper as well as the other."
Etymology
From a popular belief that the King could cure the disease by touching the sufferer.