Meanings
plural smallpoxes
- uncountableusuallymedicineAn acute, highly infectious often fatal disease caused by Variola virus of the family Poxviridae. It was completely eradicated in the 1970s, but still exists in laboratories. Those who survived were left with pockmarks.
The Europeans brought new diseases such as smallpox, measles, dysentery, influenza, syphilis and leprosy.
2 more examples
We know that the most deadly of the early epidemics in America were those of the eruptive fevers—smallpox, measles, typhus, and so on. The first to arrive and the deadliest, said contemporaries, was smallpox.
1973, Alfred W. Crosby, The Columbian Exchange, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 42Can't make it in today, Mr. Smithers; I have smallpox. Well it wasn't wiped out in my house!
1998 February 15, David X. Cohen, “Das Bus”, in The Simpsons, season 9, episode 14, spoken by HomerSynonyms: variola
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn acute, highly infectious often fatal disease caused by Variola virus of the family Poxviridae. It was completely eradicated in the 1970s, but still exists in laboratories. Those who survived were left with pockmarks.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever and weakness and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs that slough off leaving scars
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From small + pox, in contrast to greatpox (“syphilis”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جُدَرِيّ
- جُدَرِيّ (judariyy)disease
Bengali গুটিবসন্ত
- গুটিবসন্ত (guṭibśonto)disease
Bulgarian е́дра ша́рка, вариола
- е́дра ша́рка (édra šárka)disease
- вариола (variola)disease
Catalan verola, pigota
- veroladisease
- pigotadisease
Chinese Mandarin 天花
- 天花 (tiānhuā)disease
Czech neštovice
- neštovicedisease
Danish kopper
- kopperdisease
Dutch pokken
- pokkendisease
Esperanto variolo
- variolodisease
Estonian rõuged
- rõugeddisease
Finnish isorokko
- isorokkodisease
French variole, petite vérole
- varioledisease
- petite véroledisease
German Pocken, Blattern
- Pockendisease
- Blatterndisease
Greek ευλογιά
- ευλογιά (evlogiá)disease
Hawaiian maʻi puʻupuʻu liʻiliʻi
- maʻi puʻupuʻu liʻiliʻidisease
Hindi चेचक, शीतला
- चेचक (cecak)disease
- शीतला (śītlā)disease
- माता (mātā)disease
- बड़ी माता (baṛī mātā)disease
- आतशक (ātśak)disease
Hungarian fekete himlő
- fekete himlődisease
Icelandic bólusótt
- bólusóttdisease
Irish bolgach, bolgach Dé
- bolgachdisease
- bolgach Dédisease
Italian vaiolo, vaiuolo
- vaiolodisease
- vaiuolodisease
Japanese 天然痘, 疱瘡
- 天然痘 (tennentō)disease
- 疱瘡 (hōsō)disease
- 痘瘡 (tōsō)disease
- 疱瘡 (mogasa)disease
- 疱瘡 (imogasa)disease
Korean 천연두, 두창
- 천연두 (cheonyeondu)disease
- 두창 (duchang)disease
- 마마 (mama)disease
- 두환 (duhwan)disease
Latvian bakas
- bakasdisease
Lithuanian raupai̇̃
- raupai̇̃disease
Malay cacar
- cacardisease
Māori mate koroputaputa, mate pokapoka
- mate koroputaputadisease
- mate pokapokadisease
Norwegian Bokmål kopper
- kopperdisease
Persian آبله
- آبله (âbele)disease
Polish ospa, ospa prawdziwa
- ospadisease
- ospa prawdziwadisease
- czarna ospadisease
Portuguese varíola
- varíoladisease
Punjabi ਚੇਚਕ, ਆਤਸ਼ਕ
- ਚੇਚਕ (cecak)disease
- ਆਤਸ਼ਕ (ātaśak)disease
- ਵੱਡੀ ਮਾਤਾ (vaḍḍī mātā)disease
- ਦਾਣੇ (dāṇe)disease
Romanian variolă, vărsat
- variolădisease
- vărsatdisease
Russian о́спа
- о́спа (óspa)disease
Scottish Gaelic a' bhreac, a' bhanachrach
- a' bhreacdisease
- a' bhanachrachdisease
Slovak kiahne, variola
- kiahnedisease
- varioladisease
Spanish viruela
- virueladisease
Swahili ndui
- nduidisease
Swedish smittkoppor
- smittkoppordisease
Tagalog bulutong
- bulutongdisease
Tamil பெரியம்மை, அம்மை
- பெரியம்மை (periyammai)disease
- அம்மை (ammai)disease
Thai ฝีดาษ, โรคฝีดาษ
- ฝีดาษ (fǐi-dàat)disease
- โรคฝีดาษdisease
Turkish çiçek hastalığı
- çiçek hastalığıdisease
Ukrainian ві́спа
- ві́спа (víspa)disease
Urdu چیچک, ماتا
- چیچک (cecak)disease
- ماتا (mātā)disease
- سیتلا (sītlā)disease
Vietnamese đậu mùa
- đậu mùadisease
Welsh brech wen, brech folog
- brech wendisease
- brech fologdisease
Yiddish פּאָקן
- פּאָקן (pokn)disease
Cite this entry
smallpox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smallpox
“smallpox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smallpox. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smallpox,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smallpox.
Source: smallpox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.