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Definition: Plague |
PlagueNoun1. A serious (sometimes fatal) infection transmitted by the bite of an infected rat flea (especially bubonic plague). 2. Any epidemic disease with a high death rate. 3. Any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God). 4. (informal) an annoyance; "those ants are a damn plague". Verb1. Cause to suffer a blight; "Too much rain may blight the garden with mold.". 2. Annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "plague" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | PLAGUE, n. In ancient times a general punishment of the innocent for admonition of their ruler, as in the familiar instance of Pharaoh the Immune. The plague as we of to-day have the happiness to know it is merely Nature's fortuitous manifestation of her purposeless objectionableness. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Bible | Plague a "stroke" of affliction, or disease. Sent as a divine chastisement (Num. 11:33; 14:37; 16:46-49; 2 Sam. 24:21). Painful afflictions or diseases, (Lev. 13:3, 5, 30; 1 Kings 8:37), or severe calamity (Mark 5:29; Luke 7:21), or the judgment of God, so called (Ex. 9:14). Plagues of Egypt were ten in number. (1.) The river Nile was turned into blood, and the fish died, and the river stank, so that the Egyptians loathed to drink of the river (Ex. 7:14-25). (2.) The plague of frogs (Ex. 8:1-15). (3.) The plague of lice (Heb. kinnim, properly gnats or mosquitoes; comp. Ps. 78:45; 105:31), "out of the dust of the land" (Ex. 8:16-19). (4.) The plague of flies (Heb. arob, rendered by the LXX. dog-fly), Ex. 8:21-24. (5.) The murrain (Ex.9:1-7), or epidemic pestilence which carried off vast numbers of cattle in the field. Warning was given of its coming. (6.) The sixth plague, of "boils and blains," like the third, was sent without warning (Ex.9:8-12). It is called (Deut. 28:27) "the botch of Egypt," A.V.; but in R.V., "the boil of Egypt." "The magicians could not stand before Moses" because of it. (7.) The plague of hail, with fire and thunder (Ex. 9:13-33). Warning was given of its coming. (Comp. Ps. 18:13; 105:32, 33). (8.) The plague of locusts, which covered the whole face of the earth, so that the land was darkened with them (Ex. 10:12-15). The Hebrew name of this insect, _arbeh_, points to the "multitudinous" character of this visitation. Warning was given before this plague came. (9.) After a short interval the plague of darkness succeeded that of the locusts; and it came without any special warning (Ex. 10:21-29). The darkness covered "all the land of Egypt" to such an extent that "they saw not one another." It did not, however, extend to the land of Goshen. (10.) The last and most fearful of these plagues was the death of the first-born of man and of beast (Ex. 11:4, 5; 12:29,30). The exact time of the visitation was announced, "about midnight", which would add to the horror of the infliction. Its extent also is specified, from the first-born of the king to the first-born of the humblest slave, and all the first-born of beasts. But from this plague the Hebrews were completely exempted. The Lord "put a difference" between them and the Egyptians. (See PASSOVER.). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of a plague raging, denotes disappointing returns in business, and your wife or lover will lead you a wretched existence. If you are afflicted with the plague, you will keep your business out of embarrassment with the greatest maneuvering. If you are trying to escape it, some trouble, which looks impenetrable, is pursuing you. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Health | An acute infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis that affects humans, wild rodents, and their ectoparasites. This condition persists due to its firm entrenchment in sylvatic rodent-flea ecosystems throughout the world. Bubonic plague is the most common form. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Black Death (also The Plague, and latterly Black Plague though not called this in earlier times) was a devastating epidemic in Europe in the 14th century which is estimated to have killed about a third of the population. Most scientists believe that the Black Death was an outbreak of bubonic plague, a dreaded disease that has spread in pandemic form several times through history. The plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis which is spread by fleas with the help of animals like the black rat (Rattus rattus) -what we would call today the sewer rat. Sometimes, the term "Black Death" is used for all outbreaks of plague and epidemics.
Evolution
It is not entirely clear where the major epidemic of the 14th century started, but it was probably somewhere around the northern parts of India. It then spread west to the Middle East. The plague was imported to Europe by the way of the Crimea, where the Genoese colony Kaffa (Feodosiya) was besieged by the Mongols. History says that the Mongols catapulted infected cadavers1 into the city. The refugees from Kaffa then took the plague along to Messina, Genoa and Venice, around the turn of 1347/1348. Some ships didn't have anyone alive when they reached their port. From Italy the disease spread clockwise around Europe, hitting France, Spain, England (in June 1348) and Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and finally north-western Russia around 1351.
Consequences
The information about the death toll varies widely from source to source, but it is estimated that about a third of the population of Europe died from the outbreak in the mid-1300s. Approximately 25 million deaths occurred in Europe alone with many others occurring in Africa and Asia. Some villages were deserted with the few survivors fleeing and spreading the disease further.
The great population loss brought economic changes based on increased social mobility as depopulation eroded peasant obligations (already weakened) to remain on their traditional holdings. The sudden scarcity of cheap labor provided an incentive for innovation that broke the stagnation of the Dark Ages and, some argue, caused the Renaissance, despite the Renaissance occurring in some areas (such as Italy) before others . Because of the depopulation, though, the surviving Europeans became the biggest consumers of meat for a civilization before industrial agriculture.
The popular legend that the Black Death inspired one of the most enduring nursery rhymes in the English language, Ring around a rosie, a pocket full of posies, / Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. (or a-tishoo, a-tishoo, we all fall down) turns out on closer examination to be false. However it did lead to the displacement of French with English.
See also Danse macabre, Decameron, flagellant, pogrom.
1 A cadaver is another name for a corpse or body.
Alternative explanations
Recently the scientists Susan Scott and Christopher Duncan from Liverpool University have proposed the theory that the Black Death might have been caused by an Ebola-like virus, not a bacterium. Their rationale is that this plague spread much faster and the incubation period was much shorter than the plagues caused by Yersinia pestis. It also took place in completely ratless areas like Iceland. It was transferred between humans (which happens rarely with Yersinia pestis), and some genes that determine immunity to Ebola-like viruses are much more widespread in Europe than in other parts of the world.
In a similar train of thought, historian Norman F. Cantor, in his 2001 book In the Wake of the Plague, suggests the Black Death might have been a combination of pandemics including a form of anthrax, a cattle murrain. Among the evidence he cites are reported disease symptoms not in keeping with the known effects of either bubonic or pneumonic plague; the discovery of anthrax spores in a plague pit in Scotland, and the fact that meat from infected cattle was known to have been sold in many rural English areas prior to the onset of the plague.
Moreover, what was previously considered to be final evidence for the Yersinia pestis theory, tooth pulp tissue taken from a 14th century plague cemetery in Montpellier containing Y. pestis DNA, was never confirmed in any other cemetery.
There are counter-arguments to this theory, however. Historical examples of pandemics of other diseases in populations not previously exposed, such as smallpox and tuberculosis amongst American Indians, show that because there is no inherited adaptation to the disease, its course in the first epidemic is faster and far more virulent than later epidemics amongst the descendants of survivors. The Middle East and Far East were affected equally badly (as the Rihla of Ibn Battuta testifies), so the prevalence of immunity genes specifically in Europeans is curious. Furthermore, the plague returned again and again and was recognised as the same disease through succeeding centuries into modern times when the Yersinia bacterium was identified.
In September 2003, a team of researchers from Oxford University revealed the surprising results of tests made on 121 teeth from 66 skeletons found in 14th century mass graves. The remains showed no genetic trace of Yersinia pestis, and the researchers suggest that the Montpellier study might have been flawed.
External links and references
- BBC news story on controversy over Black Death origins
- Mark Derr, "New Theories Link black Death to Ebola-Like Virus", The New York Times, Science Section, October 2, 2001.
- Examination of "Ring around the Rosy"'s relationship to the plague
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Black Death."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is believed to have caused several epidemics or pandemics throughout history.
Infection
The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is usually transmitted by the bite of fleas from an infected host, often a rat. The bacteria are transferred from the blood of infected rats to the Rat Flea (Xenopsylla cheopsis). The bacillus multiplies in the stomach of the flea, blocking it. When the flea next bites a mammal, the consumed blood is regurgitated along with the bacillus into the bloodstream of the bitten animal. Any serious outbreak of plague is started by other disease outbreaks in the rodent population. During these outbreaks, infected fleas that have lost their normal hosts seek other sources of blood.
Symptoms and treatment
The disease becomes evident 2-6 days after infection. Initial symptoms are chills, fever, headaches, and the formation of buboes. The buboes are formed by the infection of the lymph nodes, which swell and become prominent. If unchecked, the bacteria infect the bloodstream (septicemic plague) and then the lungs (pneumonic plague).
In septicemic plague there is bleeding into the skin and other organs, which creates black patches on the skin, hence the name Black Death. Mortality in untreated cases is 50-90%, but early treatment with antibiotics is effective (usually streptomycin or gentamycin), reducing the mortality rate to around 15% (USA 1980s).
With pneumonic plague the infected lungs raised the possibility of person-to-person transmission through respiratory droplets. After two to four days of incubation the initial symptoms of headache, weakness, and coughing with hemoptysis are indistinguishable from other respiratory illnesses. Without diagnosis and treatment the infection can be fatal in one to six days, mortality in untreated cases may be as high as 95%. The disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics, however.
As a biological weapon aerosolized pneumonic plague is the only effective plague agent.
"Doktor Schnabel von Rom" (English: "Doctor Beak from Rome") engraving by Paul Fürst (after J Columbina) (Larger Version)
Historic outbreaks
A special warning has to be made about early epidemics of the "plague", for example in Greek or Roman history or in the Bible - these are usually not well enough documented to make any definite statement about the nature of the disease; the usage of the name stems from the early modern time, when the plague was the only disease known to cause massively killing epidemics.
Many scientists believe that there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in the 6th century, starting in Africa and moving to Constantinople and the rest of the Byzantine Empire.
Most scientists believe that the Black Death in the 14th century was an outbreak of bubonic plague. However, other theories have now been advanced, suggesting that the Black Death may have been an outbreak of some other disease, possibly a hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, or anthrax.
The Great Plague of 1665 in London is also generally believed to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague.
After a localised outbreak in Provence in southern France in 1720-1721, Europe suffered no more such attacks of plague, though the disease remained virulent in other regions, killing upwards of ten million in India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries according to some estimates.
The last rat-borne epidemic in the United States occurred in Los Angeles, California in 1924-25.
Contemporary cases
The disease still exists in wild animal populations in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia, through much of the Middle East, China, Southwest and Southeast Asia, Southern and Eastern Africa, in North America from the Pacific Coast eastward to the western Great Plains and from British Columbia southward to Mexico, and in South America in two areas - the Andes mountains and Brazil. There is no plague-infected animal population in Europe or Australia.
Globally, the World Health Organization reports 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Bubonic plague."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in Britain that killed up to a fifth of London's population in 1665. It is generally believed to have been bubonic plague, an infection by the bacteria Yersinia pestis transmitted via a rat vector. Other infectious agents have also been suggested.An account of the plague is given by Daniel Defoe in A Journal of the Plague Year.
The Great Fire of London in 1666 killed most of the London rats, and the 16 human deaths in the fire was probably fewer than would have died had the fire not happened.
Affected areas and extent
Though concentrated in London, the outbreak affected other areas of the country. Perhaps the most famous example was the village of Eyam in Derbyshire. The plague arrived in a parcel of cloth sent from London. The villagers imposed a quarantine on themselves to stop the further spread of the disease. Though successful, the village lost around 80% of its inhabitants.
The 1665 epidemic was in fact on a far smaller scale than the earlier "Black Death", a virulent outbreak of disease in Europe between 1347 and 1353, but was remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in Europe.
"Ring of Roses" nursery rhyme
It is sometimes claimed that this particular incidence of the disease is commemorated in the children's nursery rhyme "Ring of Roses":
The ring of roses was the characteristic formation of buboes in the early stage of infections. The posies were flowers thought to ward off infection. The third line refers to sneezing, which was another early symptom. The last line refers to dying which is what commonly happened next.
- "A ring-a-ring of roses,
- A pocket full of posies,
- A tishoo, a tishoo,
- We all fall down"
A variant of the rhyme is:
However, this theory about this rhyme is nothing more than speculation: the rhyme was first published in 1881. A good summary of the argument against this theory may be found at [1].
- "Ring around the rosies
- Pocket full of posies
- Ashes, ashes
- We all fall down"
See also
- UK topics
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Great Plague."
Synonyms: PlagueSynonyms: pestilence (n), beset (v), blight (v), chevvy (v), chevy (v), chivvy (v), chivy (v), harass (v), harry (v), hassle (v), molest (v), provoke (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Dejection | Phrase: the countenance falling; the heart failing, the heart sinking within one; "a plague of sighing and grief"; " thick-ey'd musing and curs'd melancholy"; " the sickening pang of hope deferred". |
Disease | Taint, pollution, infection, sepsis, septicity, infestation; epidemic, pandemic, endemic, epizootic; murrain, plague, pestilence, pox. |
Ague, angina pectoris, appendicitis; Asiatic cholera, spasmodic cholera; biliary calculus, kidney stone, black death, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague; blennorrhagia, blennorrhoea; blood poisoning, bloodstroke, bloody flux, brash; breakbone fever, dengue fever, malarial fever, Q-fever; heart attack, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy; hardening of the arteries, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis; bronchocele, canker rash, cardialgia, carditis, endocarditis; cholera, asphyxia; chlorosis, chorea, cynanche, dartre; enanthem, enanthema; erysipelas; exanthem, exanthema; gallstone, goiter, gonorrhea, green sickness; grip, grippe, influenza, flu; hay fever, heartburn, heaves, rupture, hernia, hemorrhoids, piles, herpes, itch, king's evil, lockjaw; measles, mumps, polio; necrosis, pertussis, phthisis, pneumonia, psora, pyaemia, pyrosis, quinsy, rachitis, ringworm, rubeola, St. Vitus's dance, scabies, scarlatina, scarlet fever, scrofula, seasickness, struma, syntexis, tetanus, tetter, tonsillitis, tonsilitis, tracheocele, trachoma, trismus, varicella, varicosis, variola, water qualm, whooping cough; yellow fever, yellow jack. | |
Anthrax, bighead; blackleg, blackquarter; cattle plague, glanders, mange, scrapie, milk sickness; heartworm, feline leukemia, roundworms; quarter-evil, quarter-ill; rinderpest. | |
Inexpedience | Evil doer; bane; plague spot; (insalubrity); evil star, ill wind; hoodoo; Jonah; snake in the grass, skeleton in the closet; amari aliquid, thorn in the side. |
Insalubrity | Noun: insalubrity; unhealthiness; Adjective:; nonnaturals; plague spot; malaria; (poison); death in the pot, contagion; toxicity. |
Malediction | Interjection: woe to! beshrew! ruat coelum! ill betide, woe betide; confusion seize! damn! damn it! damn you! damn you to hell! go to hell! go to blazes! confound! blast! curse! devil take! hang! out with! a plague upon! out upon! aroynt! honi soit! parbleu! |
Pain | Displease, annoy, incommode, discompose, trouble, disquiet; faze, feaze, feeze (U.S.); disturb, cross, perplex, molest, tease, tire, irk, vex, mortify, wherret, worry, plague, bother, pester, bore, pother, harass, harry, badger, heckle, bait, beset, infest, persecute, importune. |
Annoyance, irritation, worry, infliction, visitation; plague, bore; bother, botheration; stew, vexation, mortification, chagrin, esclandre; mauvais quart d'heur. | |
Annoyance, grievance, nuisance, vexation, mortification, sickener; bore, bother, pother, hot water, "sea of troubles", hornet's nest, plague, pest. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Plague |
| English words defined with "plague": annihilate, Antiloimic ♦ Black Death, black plague, blasting, bloodsucking, bubo, bubonic plague ♦ carry off ♦ decimate ♦ Edward III, eliminate, eradicate, extinguish ♦ Four Horsemen ♦ ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome ♦ Impest ♦ Loimic ♦ macabre ♦ Pestilence weed, plague spot, Plagueless, Plaguing ♦ ruinous ♦ supernal ♦ To carry off ♦ Wanion, wipe out. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "plague": Baal-zebub, Bessie Bell and Mary Gray, Blains ♦ CANNIKIN ♦ Dictator ♦ Feline Panleukopenia, Frog ♦ Herring-pond, HUMORIST ♦ Marseilles' Good Bishop, meme plague, miss ♦ Nails driven into Cottage Walls, Nucta ♦ or Yersinia pestis ♦ Pasteurella pestis, Plague Vaccine, purple plaque ♦ Rinderpest Virus, Roch ♦ telescope ♦ Yersinia pestis. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "plague": Plaint. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure (The Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski) Sin can be caught as easily as the plague. (The Devils; writing credit: Aldous Huxley; Ken Russell) As punishment for your desertion, it's company policy to give you the plague! (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts (Doctor Who; writing credit: Basil Caplan; Martin Defalco) The Riddler is loose to plague us with his criminal conundrums (Batman; writing credit: Bob Kane; Lorenzo Semple Jr.) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Plague of the Zombies (1966) A Story of the Red Plague Remorse (1917) Prisoners of the Forgotten Plague (1999) The Plague Monkeys (1994) Scenes From the Plague Year (1991) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | In 1887, 27 year old Dr. Joseph Kinyoun set up his one person laboratory of hygiene to research cholera and other communicable diseases such as diphtheria, typhoid, small pox, typhus, plague and tuberculosis. This was the birth of NIH in a small attic room in the Marine Hospital in the village of Stapleton on Staten Island, New York. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Buboes are due to the swelling of lymph nodes after they've absorbed infective material as seen here in a case of plague. Credit: CDC. |
 | Capillary fragility is one of the manifestations of a plague infection, evident here on the leg of an infected patient. Credit: CDC. |  | This laboratorian is identifying fleas as one step in the collection of Plague Study data. Credit: CDC. |
 | This was one of the facilities in which Plague patients would have been sequestered while undergoing diagnosis and treatment of Plague symptoms. Credit: CDC. |  | Long-tailed weasels have been identified as carriers of fleas inoculated with Yersinia pestis, the plague bacterium. Credit: CDC. |
 | Yersinia (Pasteurella) pestis causes plague in animals and humans. People usually get plague from being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium, or by handling an infected animal. Credit: CDC. |  | R. norvegicus is known to be a reservoir of bubonic plague (transmitted to man by the bite of a flea or other insect), endemic typhus fever, ratbite fever, and a few other dreaded diseases. Credit: CDC. |
 | X. cheopis is responsible for transmitting the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. The World Health Organization reports 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year, globally. Credit: CDC. |  | A red rose, symbol of love—and tasty treat for spider mites. This issue of the magazine looks at several ARS efforts to keep valuable floral and nursery crops like roses and woody ornamentals safe from the many pests that plague them. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Peggy Greb.. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Cumberland | This world has cares enough to plague us; but he who meditates on others' woe, shall, in that meditation, lose his own. |
Henry Fielding | If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil. |
Martin Luther | Some plague the people with too long sermons; for the faculty of listening is a tender thing, and soon becomes weary and satiated. |
Napoleon Bonaparte | The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague. |
Robert Burton | One was never married, and that's his hell; another is, and that's his plague. |
Simon Bolivar | The United States appear to be destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty. |
St. Jerome | Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business. |
The Seven Sages | Every one of you hath his particular plague, and my wife is mine; and he is very happy who hath this only. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Of all the plagues with which the land of the Pharaohs was smitten one plague alone, that of darkness, was called horrible |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | There is no plague in Australia. (references) | |
Plague has a remarkable place in history. (references) | ||
A. By the bite of fleas infected with the plague bacteria. (references) | ||
Business | The selling-off of important assets to non-domestic companies could also heighten the political sensitivities that already plague the reform process. (references) | |
Economic History | Uzbekistan | Foreign investors do face all the same bureaucratic processes that plague all businesses in Uzbekistan, such as business registration, import contract registration, and licensing and customs delays. (references) |
Azerbaijan | If selected, many of the provisions set forth in the respective PSAs, such as exemption from import duties and VAT, will usually extend to subcontractors and suppliers, eliminating the endless tax and customs headaches that can plague operations in Azerbaijan. (references) | |
Guyana | Inefficiencies and delays periodically plague the foreign currency exchange market. (references) | |
Human Rights | Mexico | However, in a report released in December 2000, Human Rights Watch asserted that deficiencies in the administration of justice still were a major concern, and repeated its 1999 statement that judicial reforms have done little to improve the problems that plague the justice system. (references) |
El Salvador | Gang violence, especially in the country's three largest and oldest penitentiaries, continued to plague the prison system, despite government efforts to segregate gangs. (references) | |
Chad | Official inaction and executive interference continued to plague the judiciary. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Venezuela | High rates of cholera, hepatitis B, malaria, and other diseases plague their communities. (references) |
Minorities | Greece | Nevertheless poverty, illiteracy, and social prejudice continued to plague large parts of the Romani population; these problems were most severe among migrant Roma or those who lived in slums. (references) |
Political Economy | Colombia | High levels of economic crime continued to plague business in Colombia. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DICTATOR, n. The chief of a nation that prefers the pestilence of despotism to the plague of anarchy. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Plague" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 86.50% of the time. "Plague" is used about 510 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 86.5% | 442 | 13,088 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 9.2% | 47 | 49,740 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.11% | 21 | 76,261 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.2% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 510 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "plague": a plague on him! ♦ afflict with plague ♦ black plague ♦ bubonic plague ♦ cattle plague ♦ equine plague ♦ fowl plague ♦ meme plague ♦ plague mark ♦ plague of small ruminants ♦ plague on it! ♦ plague ridden ♦ plague smb.'s life out ♦ plague spot ♦ plague stricken ♦ plague strtiken ♦ Plague Vaccine ♦ plague victim ♦ pneumonic plague ♦ purple plague ♦ red plague ♦ russian cattle plague ♦ septicemic plague ♦ small stock plague ♦ smitten with the plague ♦ source of plague ♦ swine plague ♦ tin plague ♦ visit with plague ♦ what a plague she is! ♦ white plague. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "plague": plague-bearer, plague-carrier, plague-carrying, plague-infested, plague-like, plague-pit, plague-ridden, plague-sufferers. | |
Ending with "plague": pre-plague. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "plague"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | pllakos (come unexpectedly, visit), torturoj (crucify, excruciate, rack, rankle, torture, wrack), shqetësoj (agitate, ail, alarm, bother, break up, concern, denationalize, discommode, discompose, disquiet, distemper, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, fash, flurry, fret, Harrow, Harry, incommode, move, peeve, perturb, pother, preoccupy, ruffle, trouble, vex, worry), shqetësim (affliction, agitation, anxiety, bother, care, concern, discomfort, discomposure, displeasure, disquiet, disquietude, distemper, distress, disturbance, fash, fear, feeling, fidget, flurry, fret, Fry, harassment, inconvenience, inquietude, moil, perturbation, preoccupation, qualm, restlessness, solicitude, trepidation, trouble, tumult, turmoil, uneasiness, unrest, vexation, worry), sëmundje epidemike, ndëshkim (amercement, castigation, chastisement, comeuppance, correction, discipline, hell, infliction, pain, penalty, penitence, punishment, strafe, what for), murtajë (murrain, pest, pestilence), mërzit (annoy, badger, bore, bother, cloy, disgruntle, dissatisfy, get, nag, peeve, pester, turn sour, vex), fatkeqësi (accident, adversity, bane, calamity, casualty, disaster, distress, doom, evil, fatality, ill luck, infelicity, misadventure, misery, misfortune, teen, tribulation, woe). (various references) | |
Arabic | كارثة (blow, calamity, casualty, catastrophe, disaster, evil, fatal, fate, grief, holocaust, scourge, shambles), مصدر إزعاج (bore, trouble), نزل به كارثة, وباء (epidemic, pest, pestilence, scourge), عذب (agonize, agreeable, bedevil, benign, charming, chasten, crucify, devil, dulcet, freshen, grilled, harrow, harry, hearty, leisurely, liquid, murder, palmy, persecute, pillory, quiet, rack, rack one's brains, scourge, silken, silky, sleek, smite, smooth, smooth spoken, soft, suave, sweet, sympathetic, tantalize, tease, tender, torment, torture, wrench, wring), طاعون (pest), أزعج (ail, annoy, beset, bother, burn, discompose, disquiet, disrupt, distress, disturb, get in the way, get on smb.'s nerves, gig, gnaw, grate, hamper, harass, importune, incommode, inconvenience, infest, intrude, irk, irritate, jolt, molest, nag, niggle, obsess, offend, pain, peck, peeve, perturb, pester, possess, prickle, put out, rasp, rattle, ruffle, saddle, torment, trouble, upset, vex), أصابه بطاعون, بلاء (curse, hardship, ill, illness, inflexion, infliction, ordeal, sore, trouble, worry). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | холера (cholera), чума (lues, pest), тормозя (badger, bait, bedevil, bully, chivy, excruciate, fret, harass, hunt down, jade, murder, persecute, pester, pick on, play up, prey, push, put upon, rack, rag, ride, scourge, worry), каламитет (irruption), вадя душата на (importune, pester, ride), неприятност (annoyance, cross, headache, mischief, nuisance, packet, rub, scrape, shame, spot, trouble, vexation), наказание (amercement, award, castigation, discipline, gruel, infliction, judgement, judgment, pain, pay, payment, penalty, punishment, rap, requital, retribution), напаст (adversity, curse, menace, nuisance, pest, scourge, terror), мор (dummy, pest, pestilence), заразявам (communicate, contaminate, defile, infect, poison, stuff), епидемия (epidemic, pestilence, rash), безпокойство (alarm, anxiety, bother, care, concernment, discomposure, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, fash, harassment, inconvenience, inquietude, malaise, qualm, ruffle, trepidation, trouble, uneasiness, upset, whim-wham, worriment, worrit, worry), бич (lash, quirt, scourge, whip), поразявам (amaze, astound, attaint, defeat, destroy, dismay, flabbergast, impress, overwhelm, smite, stare, strike down, wow), досада (annoyance, chagrin, displeasure, ennui, pip, tedium, vexation, weariness). (various references) | |
Chinese | 疫病 , 疫 (epidemic), 瘟疫, 瘟 (epidemic, pestilence), 大災 . (various references) | |
Czech | pohroma (blight, calamity, catastrophe, disaster), zlořád (nuisance), zamořit (contaminate, infest, overrun, taint), zamoření (contamination), trápit (afflict, agonize, ail, bait, beset, bother, discommode, disgruntle, grieve, nag, pain, pester, pother, rack, tantalize, torment, torture, trouble, vex, worry), trápení (care, harassment, misery, suffering, torment, torture, trouble, vexation, worry), soužit (pester, tease, vex), mor (pestilence). (various references) | |
Danish | pest (pestilence). (various references) | |
Dutch | pest (pestilence). (various references) | |
Esperanto | plagi (afflict), pesto (pestilence). (various references) | |
Farsi | سرایت مرض , طاعون (Pest), افت (Blight, Deuce, Downfall, Pest, Pestilence, Slump), ازاررساندن (Hurt, Molest), دچارطاعون کردن , بلا (Bale, Calamity, Curse, Deuce, Disaster, Misadventure, Pest, Scourge, Terror), بستوه اوردن (Annoy, Beset, Harass, Hare, Harry, Haze, Hurry, Pester, Worry). (various references) | |
Finnish | vitsaus (scourge). (various references) | |
French | peste. (various references) | |
German | plagen (afflict, ail, badger, harass, Harry, infest, niggle, pester, plage, rack, run, to afflict, to ail, to plague, torment, vex), Pest (pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Greek | κακό τι, βασανίζω (afflict, agonize, bait, bedevil, excruciate, flay, harass, obsess, pester, prey on, rack, scourge, torment, torture, worry), μάστιξ (scourge, whip), μαστίζω (infest, lash, scourge, whip), πληγή (canker, injury, laceration, lesion, minus, scourge, sore, wound), πανώλησ (pestilence, pox), πανώλης, πανώλη (pestis), πανούκλα, επιδημία (blast, epidemic, pest, pestilence), λοιμόσ (pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מכ" (blow, bump, cut, defeat, hit, knock, smash, striking, stroke, swat), מ'פ" (epidemic, murrain, pestilence, rout), ל"טרי" (annoy, badger, bother, fuss, incommode, irk, obsess, pester), פ'ע (accident, affliction, evil, incident, mishap, trouble), צרעת (leprosy), 'ע (blow, evil, leprosy, lesion, pestilence, punishment, scurf, stroke, trouble). (various references) | |
Hungarian | pestis (black death, pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Indonesian | petaka (calamity, catastrophe, disaster), gida (tempt), bencana (calamity, catastrophe, disaster), ambah-ambah (pest). (various references) | |
Italian | peste (pest, scamp, terror). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 疫 (pest), 異常発" , 疫癘 (epidemic, pestilence), 疫病神 (hoodoo, jinx, pest), 疫病 (epidemic, infectious disease). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | そえき (pest), いじょうはっせい, やくびょうがみ (hoodoo, jinx, pest), やくびょう (epidemic, infectious disease), えきびょう (epidemic, infectious disease), えきれい (epidemic, pestilence). (various references) | |
Korean | 염병 (Epidemic). (various references) | |
Manx | plaihghey, plaih (pestilence), paitt (pest, pestilence), murran (influenza). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | agueplay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | peste (murrain, pest, pestilence), praga (calamity, curse, deuce, imprecation, murrain, nuisance, oath, pest, prague, scourge, swear-word), epidemia (contagion, pestilence). (various references) | |
Romanian | plictisi (annoy, bore, bother, discommode, glut, irk, pall upon, pick on, pother, trouble, weary, worry, worry out), pedeapsã (calamity, castigation, chastisement, cuss, discipline, imposition, lag, pain, payment, pedate, penalty, penance, performance, punishment, retribution, rod, sanction, trouble), pacoste (blight, calamity, curse, cuss, hanger-on, nuisance, offence, pain, pest, pestilence), supãra (anger, annoy, ballyrag, chafe, exasperate, grieve, inconvenience, irk, irritate, miff, molest, nettle, offend, pester, pinch, provoke, reck, rile, rumple, spite, tease, trouble, vex), nenoroci (cripple, destroy, lacerate), nãpastã (blight, calamity, calumny, curse, disaster, injustice, offence, pest, slander, wrong), ciumã (fright, fury, hag, lues, murrain, scarecrow, shrew, termagant, vixen), chinui (agonize, bait, bore, drudge, fester, grill, harass, Harrow, Harry, lacerate, martyr, martyrize, mortify, overdrive, persecute, pinch, prey, prick, rack, slave, tantalize, torment, torture, trouble, try, worry, wring), bate la cap (bother, Chevy, nag, nagnag, needle, peeve, pester), îmbolnãvi de ciumã. (various references) | |
Russian | неприятность (bete noire, mess, nuisance, trouble, unpleasantness, vexation), беспокоить (ail, concern, distressing, disturb, fash, faze, feeze, fret, harass, incommode, inconvenience, perturb, put about, trouble, vex), бедствие (bale, bete noire, calamity, cancer, catastrophe, curse, disaster, distress, evil, tribulation), поветрие (fad), досаждать (annoy, chagrin, faze, molest, roil, vex). (various references) | |
Scottish | pl igh (a plague). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | nesreća (accident, affliction, calamity, disaster, infelicity, misadventure, misfortune, mishap, trouble, unhappiness, woe), mučiti (agonize, ail, beleaguer, excruciate, gnaw, harass, mortify, nettle, persecute, rack, rankle, tantalize, torment, torture), kuga (murrain, pestilence), kinjiti (ballyrag, harry, ride). (various references) | |
Spanish | plaga (bane, blight), peste (niff, pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Swedish | pest (menace, pest, pestilence), farsot (contagion, epidemic, pest, pestilence). (various references) | |
Turkish | veba (black death, fowl pest, pest, pestilence), felâket (affliction, bane, blight, blow, calamity, calvary, casualty, cataclysm, catastrophe, debacle, disaster, distress, fatality, fate, harm, hell, hell of, helluva, misfortune, mishap, scathe, scourge, tragedy, undoing), dert (affliction, bore, bother, botheration, complaint, cross, distress, dolor, dolour, evil, fear, grief, grievance, headache, heartache, ill, mopes, nuisance, pain, pip, pother, rock, scourge, solicitudes, sorrow, suffering, throe, trial, tribulation, trouble, woe, worry), cezalandırmak (castigate, chastise, cop it, correct, crime, discipline, dish out, give smb. gyp, penalize, punish, sconce, scourge, slate, smirk), bezdirmek (disgust, harass, sicken), belâsını vermek, belâ olmak (pester), belâ (affliction, bore, calamity, curse, damnation, darned, evil, ill, misfortune, nuisance, pest, rock, scourge, tribulation, trouble). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чума (pest, pestilence), непри"мність (contretemps, disagreement, displeasure, mess, nuisance, trouble, ungratefulness, vexation), насилати лихо, мучити (agonize, bedevil, bully, chivvy, crucify, devour, drag, excruciate, martyrize, pain, pinch, torment, torture, tribulate, trouble, victimize, whip), зачумлювати, лихо (adversity, affliction, bad, bale, calamity, cancer, catastrophe, curse, disaster, harm, ill, mischief, mishap, woe). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | vật gây tai hại quan ôn bắt nó đi!, trời tru đất diệt nó đi!, người gây tai hại, bệnh dịch tai hoạ điều tệ hại, điều phiền phức, điều khó chịu (annoyance, bother, vexation). (various references) | |
Welsh | plagio (tease, torment), plag (nuisance), pla (bore, nuisance, pestilence), crugo (fester, vex). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | plaga. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | cesluim, cladem, clades, lues, mala, male, mali, malis, malo, malorum, malum, malumque, peste, pestem, pesti, pestilencia, pestilentia, pestilentiae, pestilentiam, pestis, pestis pestis, plaga, vexabant, vexabantur, vexabat, vexabatur, vexabit, vexantes, vexare, vexari, vexas, vexasti, vexati, vexatorem, vexatos, vexatur, vexatus, vexaverunt. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Mark Chapter 5, Verse 34 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | O de eipen auth qugater h pistiV sou seswken se upage eiV eirhnhn kai isqi ugihV apo thV mastigoV sou |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Ille autem dixit ei filia fides tua te salvam fecit vade in pace et esto sana a plaga tua |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Ða cwæð se hælend. dohter þin ge-leafeþe hæle ge-dyde. ga þe on sibbe & beoof þisen hal. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And Jhesus seide to hyr, Douytir, thi feith hath maad thee saaf; go in pees, and he thou hool of thi sijknesse. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And he sayde to her: Doughter thy fayth hath made the whoale: goo in peace and be whole of thy plage. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And he said to her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be healed of thy infirmity. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be free from your disease. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Mark Chapter 5, Verse 34 |
| Cebuano | Ug si Jesus miingon kaniya, "Anak, ang imong pagsalig nakapaayo kanimo; lumakaw ka nga malinawon ug magmaayo ka gikan sa imong sakit." |
| Croatian | On joj reèe: "Kæeri, vjera te tvoja spasila! Poði u miru i budi zdrava od svojega zla!" |
| Danish | Men han sagde til hende: "Datter! din Tro har frelst dig; gå bort med Fred, og vær helbredt fra din Plage!" |
| Dutch | En Hij zeide tot haar: Dochter, uw geloof heeft u behouden; ga heen in vrede, en zijt genezen van deze uw kwaal. |
| Finnish | Mutta Jeesus sanoi hänelle: "Tyttäreni, sinun uskosi on tehnyt sinut terveeksi. Mene rauhaan ja ole terve vaivastasi." |
| French | Mais Jésus lui dit: Ma fille, ta foi t`a sauvée; va en paix, et sois guérie de ton mal. |
| Gaelic | Is thuirt esan rithe: A nighean, rinn do chreideamh slan thu: falbh ann an sith, is bi air do leigheas bho d` eucail. |
| German | Er sprach aber zu ihr; Meine Tochter, Dein Glaube hat dich gesund gemacht; gehe hin mit Frieden und sei gesund von deiner Plage! |
| Haitian Creole | Jezi di li: -Mafi, se konfyans ou nan Bondye ki geri ou. Ou mèt ale ak kè poze, tande. Ou geri nèt. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Lalu Yesus berkata kepada wanita itu, "Anak-Ku, karena engkau percaya kepada-Ku, engkau sembuh! Pergilah dengan selamat. Engkau sudah sehat sama sekali!" |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Maka kata Yesus kepadanya, "Hai anak-Ku! Imanmu sudah menyembuhkan engkau. Pulanglah engkau dengan sejahtera, dan pulihlah daripada penyakitmu itu." |
| Maori | Ano ra ko Ihu ki a ia, E ko, na tou whakapono koe i ora ai; haere marie, kia ora koe i tou mate. |
| Norwegian | Da sa han til henne: Datter! din tro har frelst dig; gå bort i fred, og vær helbredet for din plage! |
| Portuguese | Disse-lhe ele: Filha, a tua fé te salvou; vai-te em paz, e fica livre desse teu mal. |
| Rumanian | Dar Isus i -a zis: ,,Fiicq, credinya ta te -a mkntuit; du-te kn pace, wi fii tqmqduitq de boala ta.`` |
| Russian | пО ЦЕ УЛБЪБМ ЕК: "ЭЕТШ! ЧЕТБ ФЧПС У БУМБ ФЕ'С; Й"Й Ч НЙТЕ Й 'Х"Ш Ъ"ПТПЧБ ПФ 'ПМЕЪОЙ ФЧПЕК. |
| Shuar | Takui Jesus niin chicharuk "Nawantru, Winia nekas Enentáimtursa asakmin, pénker awajtamsaitme. Shiir Wetá, tura tuke pénker pujusta" Tímiayi. |
| Spanish | Él le dijo: --Hija, tu fe te ha salvado. Vete en paz y queda sanada de tu azote. |
| Swahili | Yesu akamwambia, "Binti, imani yako imekuponya. Nenda kwa amani, upone kabisa ugonjwa wako." |
| Swedish | Då sade han till henne: "Min dotter, din tro har hjälpt dig. Gå i frid, och var botad från din plåga." |
| Uma | Yesus mpo'uli' -ki tobine toei: "Ana' -ku, mo'uri' -moko sabana pepangala' -nu hi Aku'. Nculii' -moko hante kalompea' tuwu' -nu. Mo'uri' -moko, uma-pi ria haki' -nu." |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "plague": plagued, plaguer, plaguers, plagues, plaguey. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "plague": antiplague. (additional references) | |
Words containing "plague": antiplagues. (additional references) | |
| |
"Plague" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Alageuz, Aligue, Blagoev, blague, Blaguet, lague, pagu, pague, Palagio, palgue, Pangue, pauge, placue, plag, plagal, plaget, plagu, plaguy, platue, plauge, plaugh, pleague, pleagure, plege, Plegel, pluage. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-g-l-p-u" | |
-1 letter: plage. | |
-2 letters: ague, egal, gale, gape, glue, gulp, leap, luge, page, pale, peag, peal, plea, plug, pula, pule. | |
-3 letters: age, ale, alp, ape, eau, gae, gal, gap, gel, gul, lag, lap, lea, leg, leu, lug, pal, pea, peg, pug, pul. | |
-4 letters: ae, ag, al, el, la, pa, pe, up. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-g-l-p-u" | |
+1 letter: earplug, graupel, plagued, plaguer, plagues, plaguey, plumage. | |
+2 letters: apologue, earplugs, graupels, plaguers, plumaged, plumages, plussage, pupilage. | |
+3 letters: apologues, galumphed, groupable, multipage, plussages, propagule, pupilages, pupillage, upleaping. | |
+4 letters: antiplague, impugnable, outleaping, peculating, pellagrous, plateauing, pleasuring, presageful, promulgate, propagules, pupillages, spurgalled, superlarge, surplusage, unpleasing, upgradable. | |
+5 letters: antiplagues, appliqueing, aspergillum, aspergillus, encapsuling, exculpating, pelargonium, promulgated, promulgates, repugnantly, speculating, surplusages, unappealing, ungraspable, upgradeable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Bible Trace | 17. Derivations 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
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