plague

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A very serious infectious disease that spreads quickly and kills many people.

   Great plagues, such as the bubonic plague, have killed millions throughout history.

2. 2
   noun

   Something that causes great trouble, harm, or annoyance, often affecting many people.

   A plague of grasshoppers destroyed the entire crop.

3. 3
   verb

   To trouble or annoy someone continually over a long period.

   He was plagued by doubts about his decision.

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Simplified etymology

Plague entered English in the late 14th century through Wyclif’s Bible translation and ultimately derives from Latin plaga “stroke, wound.” Early English senses included “a blow” and the biblical afflictions of Egypt; by the late 15th century the word was being applied specifically to infectious diseases and epidemics.

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.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary