pest

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a destructive insect or animal, or an annoying person

   Aphids are a common pest in vegetable gardens.

Simplified etymology

Pest entered late Middle English through French peste from Latin pestis “plague” and initially referred to bubonic plague. Its sense “destructive plant or animal” is not recorded until the mid-18th century. Pestilence comes from the same root.

From Middle French peste, from Latin pestis ('plague, contagious disease, destruction'); the sense 'troublesome person or insect' developed by transfer.

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External links

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