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