A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Herpes (Eng.noun): a skin eruption that creeps and spreads, from the Greek verb (h)erpO; (fungi) “an inflammatory eruption of the skin, in many cases caused by a fungus; see ‘ringworm’ (S&D); “any of several virus diseases characterized by the formation of blisters on the skin or mucous membranes” (WIII): herpes, gen.sg. herpetis (s.m.III), abl.sg. herpete, = Gk. (h)erpEs, “a cutaneous eruption that creeps and spreads” (Lewis & Short); see herp-, herpo-; see herpet-, herpeto-; see tinea,-ae (s.f.I); see diseases (Eng.pl.noun);

Ringworm: (in fungi) “most of the lesions called by this name are approximately circular in outline because of equal growth in all directions from the point of origin and therefore the ancient Greeks called such diseases ‘herpes’ (from herpein, to creep). [But] the Romans linked these diseases with those caused by lice and applied the name ‘tinea,’ meaning any tiny insect, larva of a moth or worm. In English the two ideas have been combined to form the name ‘ringworm’” (S&D).

Shingles (Eng.pl.noun), med. = Herpes zoster, a disease with a characteristic belt- or girdle-like skin rash; derives from Latin cingulum,-i (s.n.II), q.v.

Zona,-ae (s.f.I): (med.): “an encircling band or marking; shingles (Herpes zoster)” (Glare); see zone (Eng.noun).

Zoster,-eris (s.m.III), q.v., abl.sg. zostere = Gk. zOstEr; “a disease, probably shingles” (Glare).

- per areolas floccosve minores nascitur, his vero dein subsidentibus, late lignis vetustis putrescentibus, unde enascitur, superinducitur, & hanc ob causam herpeti comparavit Doody (Dill.), it orignates [i.e.starts out] through [i.e. by means of] minor areolae [i.e. small areas] or flocks [i.e. cottony tufts], however with these sinking in, extensively in old, putrescent woods, it springs up [i.e. emerges] from there, covering over [i.e. the wood], and for this reason Doody compared it to herpes.

- Fungus violaceus, herpetis modo lignis irrepens Doody apud Raj. Syn. St. Br. II. p. 337. Hist. III. p. 23. nom. (Dill.), with [or by] the name [= nom. = nomine] Fungus violaceus [i.e. the violet fungus] creeping inside wood in the manner of herpes, Doody in the writings of Ray, Syn. St. Br. II. p. 337. Hist. III. p. 23.

Dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin inflammation resembling Herpes.

Herpestis, Gaertner. From herpestes, anything that creeps; alluding to the habit of the plants. Scrophulariaceae (Paxton).

Herpyllum,-i (s.n.II), abl.sg. herpyllo = Gk. (h)erpyllon, “a climbing evergreen plant, also called sisymbrium, ‘creeping thyme’ (Lewis & Short); cf. Serpyllum,-i (s.n.II), Thyme, > L. serpens, ‘creeping.’