Meanings
yaws1
- uncountablemedicineA contagious tropical disease, caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue, characterized by yellowish or reddish tumors, which often resemble berries.
Other threats came from organisms co-evolving with humans, including tapeworms and such spirochaetes as Treponema, the agent of syphilis, and the similar skin infection, yaws.
1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 16
yaws2
- indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of yaw
- pluralplural of yaw
Yaws3
- pluralplural of Yaw
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA contagious tropical disease, caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue, characterized by yellowish or reddish tumors, which often resemble berries.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan infectious tropical disease resembling syphilis in its early stages; marked by red skin eruptions and ulcerating lesions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
yaws · noun
Uncertain. Attested since the 1670s, perhaps from an English creole (or other language) of the Caribbean.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 雅司病, 雅司
- 雅司病 (yǎsībìng)a contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- 雅司 (yǎsī)a contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Finnish frambesia
- frambesiaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
French pian
- piana contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
German Frambösie
- Frambösiea contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Hindi गोंडी रोग, माड़िया रोग
- गोंडी रोग (goṇḍī rog)a contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- माड़िया रोग (māṛiyā rog)a contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Hungarian frambőzia
- frambőziaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Indonesian puru, patek
- purua contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- pateka contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- frambusiaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Japanese 森林梅毒
- 森林梅毒 (shinrinbaidoku)a contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Malay puru
- purua contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Polish malinica, jagodzica
- malinicaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- jagodzicaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- frambezjaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Portuguese bouba, piã
- boubaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
- piãa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Swahili buba
- bubaa contagious tropical disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with yaws
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
yaws. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yaws
“yaws.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yaws. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yaws,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yaws.
Source: yaws on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.