Pox, the venereal disease: “a man can no more separate age and covetousness than a' can part young limbs and lechery: but the gout galls the one, and the p. pinches the other,” H4B I, 2, 258. “a p. of this gout! or a gout of this p.! for the one or the other plays the rogue with my great toe,” H4B I, 2, 258 “the p. upon her green-sickness for me! Faith, there's no way to be rid on't but by the way to the p.” Per. IV, 6, 17.
Mostly used as a slight curse (and supposed, in this case, to mean the smallpox; cf. LLL V, 2, 46): “the p. of such fantasticoes!” Rom. II, 4, 29. “the p. upon her green-sickness,” Per. IV, 6, 14. “a p. of that jest,” LLL V, 2, 46. H4B I, 2, 272. H5 III, 7, 130. Tim. IV, 3, 148. Oth. I, 3, 365. “a p. on him,” All's IV, 3, 307. “a p. upon him for me,” All's IV, 3, 307 “a p. on't,” All's III, 6, 48. Cymb. II, 1, 20. “a p. o' your throat,” Tp. I, 1, 43. II, 1, 77. III, 2, 87. Meas. IV, 3, 26. “p. of your love-letters,” Gent. III, 1, 390. “p. on't,” Tw. III, 4, 308. “p., leave thy damnable faces,” Hml. III, 2, 263. “show your knave's visage, with a p. to you,” Meas. V, 359. “what a p. have I to do with my hostess,” H4A I, 2, 53.
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
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