herpes

[ hur-peez ]
See synonyms for herpes on Thesaurus.com
nounPathology.
  1. any of several diseases caused by herpesvirus, characterized by eruption of blisters on the skin or mucous membranes.: Compare chickenpox, genital herpes, oral herpes, shingles.

Origin of herpes

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from New Latin: “cutaneous eruption,” from Greek hérpēs, literally, “a creeping” (derivative of hérpein “to creep, spread”); cognate with Latin serpēns serpent

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British Dictionary definitions for herpes

herpes

/ (ˈhɜːpiːz) /


noun
  1. any of several inflammatory diseases of the skin, esp herpes simplex, characterized by the formation of small watery blisters: See also genital herpes

Origin of herpes

1
C17: via Latin from Greek: a creeping, from herpein to creep

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for herpes

herpes

[ hûrpēz ]


  1. Any of several infections caused by the herpes simplex virus of the genus Simplexvirus or by the varicella-zoster virus, a herpes virus of the genus Varicellavirus. Herpes infections are characterized by painful blisters on the skin or a mucous membrane and are highly contagious. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease. Varicella-zoster infection is also called shingles.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for herpes

herpes

[ (hur-peez) ]


A group of related diseases and the viruses that cause them. These diseases are marked by the development of blisterlike sores on the skin or mucous membranes of the body. The herpes virus may invade the mouth region, producing fever blisters or cold sores, or may cause a sexually transmitted disease in which the painful sores appear on the genitals. Chicken pox is another disease caused by a herpes virus.

Notes for herpes

After an infection, the virus remains dormant and may return at a later time. Shingles, for example, is a recurrence of the chicken pox virus, and outbreaks of genital herpes recur over time.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.