Etymology

Originally the Chinese translation of several Sanskrit and Pali words, including Sanskrit खपुष्प ‎(khapuṣpa, “flower in the sky”), as well as several plant names, such as Sanskrit दिव्यपुष्प ‎(divyapuṣpa, “oleander [heaven-flower]”) / Pali devapuppha, and Sanskrit शालपुष्प ‎(śālapuṣpa, “confederate rose [house-flower]”).

The development from “heaven-flower” (or other interpretations of the combination) to “smallpox” is unknown. It may be due to the shape resemblance of smallpox pustules to the divine flowers in Buddhism. Compare Tibetan ལྷ་འབྲུམ ‎(lha 'brum, “smallpox [deva-pustule]”), མེ་ཏོག ‎(me tog, “flower; (dialectal) smallpox”), and Mongolian ᠰᠠᠯᠬᠢᠨ ᠴᠡᠴᠡᠭ ‎(salqin čečeg) / салхин цэцэг ‎(salhin tsetseg, “smallpox; chickenpox [wind-flower]”).

Pronunciation