From tsuwm: http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

The worthless word for the day is: tabescent

progressively wasting away (from L. tabes, a wasting away)

tabes dorsalis
5ModL, tabes of the back: see TABES & DORSAL16a chronic disease of the nervous system, usually caused by syphilis and characterized by disturbances of sensations, loss of reflexes and of muscular coordination, functional

There was a young lady from Marseilles
Who thought syph would just go away.
So now she has tabes
'And sabershin babies
And thinks she's Queen of the May.

The appealing little limerick was composed before 606 made such a big difference.
Too many people forgot what VD could do. Came the Sexual Revolution, and with it AIDs