Meanings
- obsoleterareuncountablebiologyAny layer of algae, lichens, or other substance producing a leprosylike appearance on the surfaces of plants.
Lepra is frequently met with on the trunks, especially of young trees.
1805, translation of Karl Ludwig Willdenow as The Principles of Botany and of Vegetable Physiology, p. 344
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of leprosy.
nounSynonym of psoriasis.
Origin
- Hebrewצרעת“tzaraath”
- Koine Greekλέπρα“psoriasis & similar skin diseases”
- Latinlepra“psoriasis & similar skin diseases”
- Englishlepra
From Latin lepra (“psoriasis & similar skin diseases”), from Koine Greek λέπρα (lépra, “psoriasis & similar skin diseases”), from λεπρός (leprós, “scaly”), from either λεπίς (lepís, “scale”) or λέπος (lépos, “husk, scale”) + -ρος (-ros, suffix forming adjectives). 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.
More words from Latin, Koine Greek, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lepra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lepra
“lepra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lepra. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lepra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lepra.
Source: lepra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.