Meanings
- AustraliainformaluncountableAn ulcerous skin condition, apparently endemic to tropical or desert climates.
The infection does not spread from one to another among the troops, and barcoo rot affects men living in solitude.
1917, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Journal of tropical Medicine And Hygiene, volumes 20-21, page 2282 more examples
Colonel CJ Martin gives some observations on " barcoo rot." This is a very loosely applied term. The original "barcoo rot," as experienced by the older bushmen, was scurvy pure and simple.
1917, letter, British Medical Journal, volume 1917, page 468Add Barcoo rot to the torment and it was little wonder some boys came down with fever. Barcoo rot is a dreaded infection in the Barcoo and Thomson watersheds and it spreads voraciously in the humid summer months.
2009, Mike Keenan, The Shadows of Horses, page 225Synonyms: desert sores, veldt sore
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ulcerous skin condition, apparently endemic to tropical or desert climates.
Origin
A reference to the Barcoo river in Queensland.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Barcoo rot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barcoo%20rot
“Barcoo rot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barcoo%20rot. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Barcoo rot,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barcoo%20rot.
Source: Barcoo rot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.