yaws

[ yawz ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. an infectious, nonvenereal tropical disease, primarily of children, characterized by raspberrylike eruptions of the skin and caused by a spirochete, Treponema pertenue, that is closely related to the agent of syphilis.

yaws

/ jɔːz /

noun

1. usually functioning as singular an infectious nonvenereal disease of tropical climates with early symptoms resembling syphilis, characterized by red skin eruptions and, later, pain in the joints: it is caused by the spiral bacterium Treponema pertenue Also calledframboesia

yaws

/ yôz /

1. A highly contagious tropical disease that chiefly affects children, caused by the spirochete Treponema pertenue and characterized by raspberrylike sores, especially on the hands, feet, and face.

Word History and Origins

Origin of yaws¹

From Carib, dating back to 1670–80; -s ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of yaws¹

C17: of Carib origin

Example Sentences

For example, we find examples of enslaved Africans who hailed from present-day Ghana describing inoculations for yaws, another contagious flesh disorder.

From Slate

François Duvalier, who had run a clinic training doctors to treat a disfiguring disease called yaws, promised to free the government from the grip of the country’s elite and represent the other Haiti: the poor, with no paved roads, no running water and no education.

From Seattle Times

François Duvalier, who had run a clinic training doctors to treat a disfiguring disease called yaws, promised to free the government from the grip of the country’s elite and represent the other Haiti: the poor with no paved roads, no running water and no education.

From New York Times

The World Health Organization aims to eradicate yaws by 2030; its strategy calls for mass treatment of communities using a single dose of the inexpensive oral antibiotic azithromycin, followed by targeted treatment for people who develop the disease’s hallmark skin ulcers and their contacts.

From Science Magazine

Eradicating yaws—a painful and disfiguring bacterial disease—may be harder than scientists hoped, a study published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests.

From Science Magazine