Why is chicken pox named 'chicken pox'?

... are about 1/5 inch to 2/5 inch (5mm to 10mm) wide — were once thought to look like chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Another theory is that the rash of chickenpox looks like the peck marks caused by a chicken. But, in case you were wondering, chickenpox can't be caught from a chicken! read more

Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a very contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Chicken pox is an illness with skin rashes. It is spread easily through the air by infected people when they sneeze or cough. The disease also spreads through contact with an infected person's chickenpox blisters. read more

No, chicken pox doesn’t mean chicken with pox. It is a viral disease that is caused by the varicella virus. And as far as the name is concerned, it is one question that most doctors don’t know the answer for. read more

“Chickenpox (varicella): A highly infectious viral disease, chickenpox is known medically (and in many countries) as varicella. Chickenpox has nothing to do with chicken. The name was meant to distinguish this “weak” form of the pox from smallpox (chicken being used, as in chickenhearted, to mean weak or timid). read more