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pestilence |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Pestilence \Pes"ti*lence\, n. [F. pestilence, L. pestilentia. See {Pestilent}.] 1. Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence any contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. The pestilence That walketh in darkness. --Ps. xci. 6. 2. Fig.: That which is pestilent, noxious, or pernicious to the moral character of great numbers. I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. --Shak. {Pestilence weed} (Bot.), the butterbur coltsfoot ({Petasites vulgaris}), so called because formerly considered a remedy for the plague. --Dr. Prior. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: pestilence n 1: a serious (sometimes fatal) infection transmitted by the bite of an infected rat flea (especially bubonic plague) [syn: {plague}] 2: a pernicious evil influence
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