pinta

1 of 2

noun (1)

pin·​ta ˈpin-tə 

-ˌtä

: a chronic skin disease that is endemic in tropical America, that occurs successively as an initial papule, a generalized eruption, and a patchy loss of pigment, and that is caused by a treponemal spirochete (Treponema carateum) morphologically indistinguishable from the causative agent of syphilis

pinta

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈpīn-tə 

British

: a pint of milk

Examples of pinta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Although the 5,550-year-old middle-aged hunter-gatherer exhibited no visible signs of disease, researchers found traces of a previously unknown species of treponemes—bacteria that cause yaws, bejel, syphilis, and pinta—after analyzing extracted DNA from his tibia. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

American Spanish, from Spanish, spot, mark, from Vulgar Latin *pincta

Noun (2)

pint + -a (as in cuppa)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1825, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pinta

• quinta
• uinta
• uintah

Medical Definition

pinta

noun

pin·​ta ˈpint-ə, ˈpin-ˌtä 

: a chronic skin disease that is endemic in tropical America, that occurs successively as an initial papule, a generalized eruption, and a patchy loss of pigment, and that is caused by a spirochete of the genus Treponema (T. carateum) morphologically indistinguishable from the causative agent of syphilis

called also mal del pinto, pinto