leper Hear it!

leper definition

leper (lep′ər)

noun

  1. a person having leprosy
  2. a person to be shunned or ostracized, as because of the danger of moral contamination

Etymology: ME lepre, leprosy < OFr < LL lepra (L leprae, pl.) < Gr < lepros, rough, scaly < lepein, to peel < IE base *lep-, to peel off, scale > OE læfer, rush, reed

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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