A person afflicted with a loathsome disease, especially leprosy; a diseased or wretched beggar.
From Lazarus, the biblical figure covered in sores whom Jesus healed. The word entered English in the 1300s from the biblical reference, becoming synonymous with disease and wretchedness.
The word 'lazar' comes directly from the Bible story of Lazarus, but there was also a real historical 'Lazaretto' (lazaret)—hospital ships that quarantined plague victims. Language about disease often comes from religious stories and real medical crises.
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