French pox

(archaic, slang) Syphilis.

(slang) Having contracted a venereal disease.

(US, slang, dated) syphilis.

A word with two very different lives. In its tamer sense, Frenchified means made more French in style, manner, or character — perhaps overly refined, fashion-forward, or affected with French cultural airs. In older, more vulgar historical slang, it was a euphemism for having contracted a sexually transmitted infection, reflecting old British prejudices that blamed the French for the spread of syphilis. Today the word mostly survives in its cultural sense, used humorously to describe someone who has gone a bit too Parisian.