Main Entry:

yaws

Pronunciation:

\ˈyȯz\

Function:

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

Etymology:

probably from an English-based creole of the Caribbean

Date:

1679

: a contagious tropical disease 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 also frambesia