plague means the bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.
plague is pronounced /pleɪɡ/.
Why “plague” is a great word
A severe, widespread affliction, whether a deadly epidemic disease or a relentless, calamitous trouble. From Middle English *plage*, from Old French *plage*, from Latin *plāga* ("blow, wound"), from *plangō* ("to strike"). Unlike "epidemic," which clinically charts prevalence, or "pester," which suggests trivial irritation, to plague is to strike and overwhelm. It is the bubo swelling beneath the skin, the locusts descending like weather, the old grief that returns each spring—the ancient understanding that suffering arrives not as a guest, but as a conqueror; the original blow that keeps falling.
Etymology
From Middle English plage, borrowed from Old French plage, from Latin plāga (“blow, wound”), from plangō (“to strike”). Cognate with Middle Dutch plāghe (> Dutch plaag), plāghen (> Dutch plagen); Middle Low German plāge; Middle High German plāge, pflāge (> German Plage); plāgen (> German plagen); Swedish plåga; French plaie, Occitan plaga. Doublet of plaga. Displaced native Old English wōl.
noun
- The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.“It was about the beginning of September, 1664, that I, among the rest of my neighbours, heard in ordinary discourse that the plague was returned again in Holland[…] It mattered not from whence it came; but all agreed it was come into Holland again.”
- An epidemic or pandemic caused by any pestilence, but especially that caused by the above disease.“Great plagues, such as the bubonic plague or smallpox or syphilis or influenza, can happen again.”
- A widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution.“Ten Biblical plagues over Egypt, ranging from locusts to the death of the crown prince, finally forced Pharaoh to let Moses's people go.”
- A grave nuisance, whatever greatly irritates.“Bart is an utter plague; his pranks never cease.”
- A group of common grackles.
verb
- To harass, pester or annoy someone persistently or incessantly.“"Moreover," replied Congreve, "it was a sort of flattery to the duke. It showed that she valued the power of plaguing him more than her own fairest ornament. Flattery is the real secret by which a woman keeps her lover."”
- To afflict with a disease or other calamity.“Natural catastrophes plagued the colonists till they abandoned the pestilent marshland.”
Words closest in meaning
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