PLAGUE - Definition & Meaning for Kids
Meaning 1
Part of speech: Noun
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
Categories: Epidemic disease
Meaning 2
Part of speech: Noun
any epidemic disease with a high death rate
Categories: Epidemic disease
Meaning 3
Part of speech: Noun
any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)
Categories: Calamity, Catastrophe, Disaster, Tragedy, Cataclysm
Meaning 4
Part of speech: Noun
an annoyance
Example: those children are a damn plague
Categories: Annoyance, Bother, Botheration, Pain, Infliction, Pain in the neck, Pain in the ass
Synonyms
Chevvy, Hassle, Pestis, Pest, Beset
🌱 Word Origin (Etymology)
The word "plague" comes from Latin plāga. It started in Old French plage. Then it appeared in Middle English plage. Many other languages have similar words:.
- Middle Dutch: plaghe
- Dutch: plaag
- Dutch: plagen
- Middle Low German: plāge
- Middle High German: plāge
- German: Plage
- German: plagen
- Swedish: plåga
- French: plaie
- Occitan: plaga
🔗 Related Words
plaga – A related word in the same word family.
🧩 Fun Fact
Words that pass through many languages often accumulate layers of meaning from each culture.