leprosy

The story

1. Hebrew · derived fromצרעת“tzaraath”
2. Medieval Latin · derived fromleprōsia
3. Middle French · derived fromleprosie“leprosy & similar skin diseases”
4. Norman · borrowed fromleprosie
5. English todayleprosy

From Norman leprosie, from Middle French leprosie (“leprosy & similar skin diseases”), probably from leprous (“leprous”) + -ie (“-y”) but possibly from Medieval Latin leprōsia (leprōsus + -ia) although this only historically attested in reference to leprosariums. The shift of sense from psoriasis to Hansen's disease occurred in large part from the use of λέπρα (lépra) to translate Hebrew צרעת (“tzaraath”) in the Septuagint and its subsequent use in the New Testament and Late Latin.

Words from the same roots