English
lepra
Lepra comes from Latin lepra ‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’, and goes back to Koine Greek λεπρός ‘scaly’.
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEλεπρόςleprós‘scaly’
- Koine Greek, derivedc. 300 BCE–600 CEλέπραlépra‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElepra‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’
- Englishearliest quotation 1805same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEλεπρόςleprós‘scaly’
- Koine Greek, derivedc. 300 BCE–600 CEλέπραlépra‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElepra‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’
- Englishearliest quotation 1805same form
Earliest quotation: 1805, translation of Karl Ludwig Willdenow as : “Lepra is frequently met with on the trunks, especially…”
The story
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.
Linked words
through Ancient Greek λέπω ‘to peel’
through Koine Greek λέπρα ‘psoriasis & similar skin diseases’
Today it means
noun Synonym of leprosy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Koine Greek λεπρός / lepra