פּוּסְטֵמָה

The word "פּוּסְטֵמָה" (pustema) in Israeli Hebrew came from Ladino, where it meant pus or abscess (a skin lesion), and was also used as a strong curse. The origin of the word is in ancient Greek ἀπόστημα (apostema), which means boil or abscess - a cavity filled with pus surrounded by necrosis in the skin. The Greek word was adopted in Latin as apostema, and from there it passed to Spanish and Ladino in the shortened form "pustema." In Ladino, as in many other languages, names of diseases and lesions also served as curses, and therefore the word began to be used not only in its medical meaning but also as a derogatory term for a person. When the word was borrowed into Israeli Hebrew, it completely lost its original medical meaning and remained only in the slang meaning of a curse or derogatory term, especially towards women, with an emphasis on stupidity or an unpleasant character.