n.
Any of several viral diseases causing the eruption of small blisterlike vesicles on the skin or mucous membranes, especially herpes simplex or herpes zoster.
[Middle English, from Latin herpēs, from Greek, from herpein, to creep.]
herpetic her·pet'ic (hər-pĕt'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
