infest

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   of pests or parasites, to occupy a place or host in harmful or troublesome numbers

   Termites can infest a wooden house before the damage becomes visible.

2. 2
   verb

   disapproving and figurative: to be present throughout a place in unwelcome numbers

   Clickbait advertisements infest many poorly maintained websites.

Simplified etymology

Infest goes back to Latin infestare, “to assail,” from infestus, “hostile.” Early English examples mean “torment” or “harass”; the modern sense of troubling a place in large numbers dates from the mid-16th century.

From Middle English infesten, via Old French infester from Latin infestare 'attack or trouble', from infestus 'hostile or unsafe'. The modern sense shifted from active attack to harmful occupation in numbers.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary