Gonorrhea is a disease of the sex organs that is passed on during sex. Bacteria cause it. It often makes peeing hurt, and there may be a discharge from the penis or vagina, but some people — women especially — feel little at first and can pass it on without knowing. Doctors treat it with antibiotics; left alone it can scar the sex organs and make it harder to have a child. It is a medical word; in careful talk people may say an STI and then name the disease. The British spelling is gonorrhoea, with an extra o. Though actually, it is not the same illness as syphilis or chlamydia, which are other infections passed on during sex, and the “flow” in its Greek name does not mean it is a stomach bug like diarrhea, even though those words share a piece.