Why is gonorrhoea called "The clap"?

Answer 1

Gonorrhea is also commonly known by the slang term "the clap". One suggested etymology is from the old French word "clapier", meaning "brothel". Another suggested source for the term is from a notorious 18th century keeper of a brothel, Margaret Clap (better known as "Mother Clap"), though perhaps her name itself was derived from the slang term. It could also refer to the painful sting in the male urethra, which feels like the sting of a clap (as in clapping hands) when infected with the disease. Yet another suggested source refers to a traditional treatment used to clear the blockage in the urethra from gonorrheal pus, where the penis would be "clapped" on both sides simultaneously.

The term "clap" may be derived from its diplococcoid microscopic morphology, which is suggestive of two cocci "clapping".

This term has, in recent years, come to be used by extension to refer to any unspecified sexually transmitted disease.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonorrhea#.22The_Clap.22

Answer 2

I hate it when clever teachers just make up facts like that to entertain students.

"According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary:
"clap" (most often used as, "the clap") is derived from the French word "clapoir;" adopted ca. 1587 for describing gonorrhea. "

So there you have the truth

Answer 3

ha..lol i just learned this in health..back in the world war alot of the men used to sleep with prostitutes in the diffrent countries..that generals used to tell them not to because they would get donorrhea but if they did it would be so painful to go to the bathroom that the person would scream..so the other soldiers used to clap their hands so that the general wouldnt hear the dude screaming