king's evil
1King's evil — King King, n. [AS. cyng, cyning; akin to OS. kuning, D. koning, OHG. kuning, G. k[ o]nig, Icel. konungr, Sw. konung, Dan. konge; formed with a patronymic ending, and fr. the root of E. kin; cf. Icel. konr a man of noble birth. [root]44. See {Kin} …
2king's evil — Evil E vil ([=e] v l) n. 1. Anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; injury; mischief; harm; opposed to {good}. [1913 Webster] Evils which our …
3king's evil — n. [transl. of ML regius morbus: from the notion that a king s touch could cure it] Obs. SCROFULA …
4king's evil — scrofula, late 14c., translates M.L. regius morbus; so called because the kings of England and France claimed to heal it by their touch. In England, the custom dates from Edward the Confessor and was continued through the Stuarts (Charles II… …
5king's evil — An old term for scrofula. Kings of England and France claimed to heal it by their touch a gift conferred by God through the oil used at their coronation. The first English ruler to touch for the evil was Edward the Confessor; several… …
6king's evil — historic term for cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis (scrofula) which was formerly thought to be curable by the touch of a king. * * * king s evil kiŋz ē vəl, vil n, often cap K&E SCROFULA …
7king's evil — noun (usu. the king s evil) historical scrofula, formerly held to be curable by the royal touch …
8king's evil — noun scrofula Suppose the person the matter is taken from, has the kings evil, the pox, madness, or some other inveterate disease I am sure the inoculator can give no reason why it should not convey one distemper as well as the other …
9king's evil — noun Usage: often capitalized K&E Etymology: from the former belief that it could be healed by a king s touch Date: 14th century scrofula …
10king's evil — scrofula: so called because it was supposed to be curable by the touch of the reigning sovereign. [1350 1400; ME kynges evel] * * * ▪ medical disorder scrofula (q.v.), or struma, a tuberculous swelling of the lymph glands, once popularly… …
