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Pestilence

//ˈpɛstələn(t)s// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.
Noun
  1. 1
    Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating. countable, uncountable

    "1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVII, Chapter iii, leaf 347r and hit was in the realme of Logrys and soo bifelle grete pestylence & grete harme to both Realmes "And it was in the realm of Logris; and so befell great pestilence and great harm to both realms.""

  2. 2
    a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of wordnet
  3. 3
    Anything harmful to morals or public order. archaic, countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    any epidemic disease with a high death rate wordnet
  5. 5
    a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal wordnet

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.

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