meselry

Middle English

Alternative forms

• meselrie

Noun

meselry

1. leprosy
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parson's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, section 42, line 625:

     Now if he repreve him by harm of peyne, thanne turneth the repreve to Iesu Crist; for peyne is sent by the rightwys sonde of god, and by his suffrance, be it meselrie, or maheym, or maladye.

     Now if he reprove him for harm of pain, then the reproof turns to Jesus Christ, for pain is sent by the righteous dispensation of God, and by his permission, be it leprosy, or bodily injury, or illness.

References

• “meselry”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.