Related words 梅ばい 毒どく Modern medical term for syphilis, neutral and clinical, unlike the derogatory and dated 瘡掻き .
皮ひ 膚ふ 病びょう General term for skin disease; neutral and widely used, whereas 瘡掻き is a dated, stigmatizing label.
Written forms 瘡かさ 掻か き
Standard kanji spelling for this dated colloquial term.
瘡かさ かき
Variant with kana for the second character; less common but still encountered.
Etymology Compound of 瘡 (かさ , 'skin sore, scab') and 掻き (かき , nominal form of 掻く 'to scratch'). Literally 'scab-scratcher', referring to a person with visible skin lesions. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term reflects pre-modern attitudes toward skin diseases.
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