plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a contagious tropical disease especially of children caused by a spirochete (Treponema pertenue) closely resembling the causative agent of syphilis and marked by infectious ulcerative skin lesions with later bone involvement
called alsoframbesia
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebToday, syphilis and other conditions caused by the same bacterium, Treponema pallidum, such as yaws and bejel, are making a comeback, with millions of people infected every year. Charlotte Hartley, Science | AAAS, 13 Aug. 2020 One of the men had a strain of the virus that causes hepatitis B; another suffered from yaws, a syphilis-like bacterial infection of the skin, bones and cartilage. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 May 2020 Similar to syphilis, the same strain of yaws was previously identified in a 17th-century colonist of European descent, according to the researchers.Fox News, 1 May 2020 Her own research has led her to suspect that the treponema bacteria originated in the New World, manifesting as yaws and spread through skin-to-skin contact exposed by a warm climate.National Geographic, 21 June 2018
Word History
Etymology
probably from an English-based creole of the Caribbean