pseudosyphiliticadj.
/ˌs(j)uːdə(ʊ)sɪfᵻˈlɪtɪk/, U.S. /ˈˌsudoʊˌsɪf(ə)ˈlɪdɪk/ Medicine. Now rare.
Resembling syphilis or its symptoms or signs. Cf. pseudo-syphilis n.
ΚΠ
1810 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. Dis. Resembling Syphilis §I. 3 I shall call those diseases, which differ from it [sc. syphilis] in their progress and mode of becoming well, though they strikingly resemble it in appearance, by a name importing these circumstances, that is, Pseudo-syphilitic diseases.
1823 J. H. Curtis Treat. Physiol. & Dis. Ear (ed. 3) iv. 126 A gentleman applied to me on account of some pseudo-syphilitic symptoms.
1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxvii. 343 Mercury, with its pseudo-syphilitic cutaneous affections.
1930 Lancet 9 Aug. 286/1 I ought perhaps to add that in none of the three pseudo-syphilitic cases was there any good clinical ground available for a diagnosis of syphilis.
1952 Ohio Med. 48 213 (title) Verification test for pseudosyphilitic reactions.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1810