leprosy
n.n. a very old name for a serious skin disease that causes numbness and thick skin. It is now called Hansen's disease.
n. a chronic infectious disease of the skin and nerves, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Historically associated with social stigma and isolation.
The doctor explained that leprosy is now easily treatable.
In the past, people with leprosy were often forced to live in separate colonies to prevent the spread of the disease.
While the term leprosy is still used in medical literature, modern clinical practice has shifted toward the more neutral designation of Hansen's disease to reduce the historical stigma associated with the condition.
From Norman leprosie, from Middle French leprosie (“leprosy & similar skin diseases”), probably from leprous (“leprous”) + -ie (“-y”) but possibly from Medieval Latin leprōsia (leprōsus + -ia) although this only historically attested in reference to leprosariums. 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.