herpes

H4E1R1P3E1S1
UK/ˈhɜː(ɹ).piz/US/ˈhɚ.piz/

noun

A viral infection, caused by Human alphaherpesvirus 1 and Human alphaherpesvirus 2, marked by painful, watery blisters in the skin or in the mucous membranes or on the genitals.

Similar
herpes simplexHuman herpesvirus 1Human herpesvirus 2herpes virus
OriginLatin herpēs ← Ancient Greek ἕρπης →
CommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounherpes (countable and uncountable, plural herpeses)

plural herpeses

  1. countableuncountablemedicineA viral infection, caused by Human alphaherpesvirus 1 and Human alphaherpesvirus 2, marked by painful, watery blisters in the skin or in the mucous membranes or on the genitals.

    This, of course, is something only people with that STI would know. For example, herpes is 437737.

    2017 June 24, Arti Patel, “Dating with an STI: 7 ways to navigate the (often harsh) dating world”, in Global News

    Synonyms: herpes simplex, Human herpesvirus 1, Human herpesvirus 2

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA viral infection, caused by Human alphaherpesvirus 1 and Human alphaherpesvirus 2, marked by painful, watery blisters in the skin or in the mucous membranes or on the genitals.

Similar
herpes simplexHuman herpesvirus 1Human herpesvirus 2

More synonyms by meaning

nounany of the animal viruses that cause painful blisters on the skin

Similar
herpes virus
Broader
animal virus
Also see
cold sore

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἕρπης“herpes”
  2. Latinherpēs
  3. Englishherpes

From Latin herpēs, from Ancient Greek ἕρπης (hérpēs, “herpes”, literally “a creeping”), from ἕρπειν (hérpein, “to creep”).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἕρπης
  • ἕρπης (hérpēs)viral disease
Arabic حَلَأ, هِرْبِس
  • حَلَأ (ḥalaʔ)viral disease
  • هِرْبِس (hirbis)viral disease
Catalan herpes
  • herpesviral disease
Chinese Mandarin 皰疹 /疱疹
  • 皰疹 /疱疹 (pàozhěn)viral disease
Czech opar
  • oparviral disease
Danish herpes
  • herpesviral disease
Esperanto herpeto
  • herpetoviral disease
Finnish herpes
  • herpesviral disease
French herpès
  • herpèsviral disease
German Herpes
  • Herpesviral disease
Greek έρπης
  • έρπης (érpis)viral disease
Hebrew הֶרְפֶּס, שַׁלְבֶּקֶת
  • הֶרְפֶּס (hérpes)viral disease
  • שַׁלְבֶּקֶת (shalbéqet)viral disease
Hungarian herpesz
  • herpeszviral disease
Japanese 疱疹
  • 疱疹 (hōshin)viral disease
Korean 포진
  • 포진 (pojin)viral disease
Māori pāpaka
  • pāpakaviral disease
Norwegian Bokmål herpes
  • herpesviral disease
Polish opryszczka
  • opryszczkaviral disease
Portuguese herpes
  • herpesviral disease
Russian ге́рпес, лиша́й
  • ге́рпес (gérpes)viral disease
  • лиша́й (lišáj)viral disease
Spanish herpes, herpe
  • herpesviral disease
  • herpeviral disease
Swahili tego
  • tegoviral disease
Swedish herpes
  • herpesviral disease
Tagalog sakit-ahas
  • sakit-ahasviral disease
Tamil அக்கி
  • அக்கி (akki)viral disease
Thai เริม
  • เริม (rəəm)viral disease
Turkish uçuk
  • uçukviral disease

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

sphereHesperpesher
Cite this entry
APA

herpes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herpes

MLA

“herpes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herpes. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “herpes,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herpes.

Source: herpes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.