Why do they call it chickenpox

[Murphy]

if chickens cannot catch it?

 

[MHz]

The body looks like many chickens have started to peck holes in the skin after a person dies. Red would mean they are alive and who would allow that to happen. It also looks like what a fungal infection looks like.

 

[Cannuck]

What Do Chickens Have to Do With Chicken Pox? | Mental Floss

 

[Murphy]

Okay, I'll try asking this a different way.

If chickens cannot get this pox, why did they agree to having their name used? I mean, it's a sickness, right? Would you want your name allied with a medical condition where you break out in boils and stuff?

Or perhaps chickens weren't consulted?

 

[Blackleaf]

The first documented use of the term chicken pox was in 1658. Various explanations have been suggested for the use of "chicken" in the name, one being the relative mildness of the disease.

 

[Murphy]

So it would appear that no one knows the answer. I will have to ask a chicken farmer.

 

[Jinentonix]

Well, there simply isn't enough documented evidence to let us know for sure, the best theory I've read is that the Middle English language had the words “Yicche” or “Icchen” meaning, “to itch.” The Old English word for “to itch” is “Giccan.” So it seems possible that “Chicken Pox” may simply be a bastardized version of “Giccan/Yicche/Icchen/Itching” + “Pox.”