🤒 Painful skin rash 🦠 Virus causing shingles

herpes zoster

4.6

A virus that causes a painful skin rash with blisters

noun
/ˈhɜrpiːz ˈzoʊstər/

Specialized

: herpes zóster

Many adults develop herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, as they age.

Examples

The doctor confirmed that she had herpes zoster after the painful rash appeared.
After contracting herpes zoster, he experienced intense pain along the affected area.
Zovirax is used to treat herpes infections of the skin, lip, and genitals; herpes zoster (shingles).

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Synonyms

varicella zoster virus

vsherpes zoster

Specialized

1 4.9

A germ that causes chickenpox and shingles in people

focuses on causing only shingles rather than also causing chickenpox

herpes zoster virus

vsherpes zoster

Specialized

5.3

A virus that causes the painful skin rash shingles

is the formal medical name for the same infectious agent

herpes varicella zoster virus

vsherpes zoster

Specialized

4.8

A virus that causes chickenpox and shingles in people

refers specifically to the form producing shingles rather than both illnesses

herpes varicella zoster

vsherpes zoster

Specialized

4.4

A virus that causes chickenpox and later shingles

applies to the form causing shingles specifically rather than both illnesses

Surface Forms

herpes zoster singular

herpes zosters plural

Morphology

herpes + zoster

Both constituents ('herpes' and 'zoster') denote viral infections causing painful skin eruptions, so a learner who knows those words can infer that 'herpes zoster' names a viral condition characterized by painful rash/blisters. This is a compositional, clinical naming pattern rather than an idiomatic or metaphorical phrase, making the meaning derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Herpes zoster comes from two old Greek words: herpes meaning 'to creep' and zoster meaning 'belt'. Because the virus makes a painful rash that 'creeps' along a nerve in a 'belt' on one side of the body, the term is used for the virus that causes 'shingles'.