pestilence
/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/ · noun
Meaning
- Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.
- Anything harmful to morals or public order.
- The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.
Etymology / origin
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.
- pestilentia(Latin)→
- -(fro)→
- -(enm)→
- pestilence (English)
- Relations: inh, der, der
Related words
Sources
No citations have been attached yet.