Black Death
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Black Death
Where it comes from
Calque of Danish den sorte død (literally “the black death”), sortedød (“black death”), since 1755, from Old Danish. The collocation as such is attested early on, but the specific use is believed to have originated in Scandinavia and is first attested in Swedish swarta dödhen (1540), svarthe döden (1555); Modern Swedish svarta döden; compare Norwegian svartedauden, svartedauen.
proper noun the Black Death
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A pandemic outbreak of bubonic plague throughout Europe and most of Asia in the 14th century that killed nearly half the population of Europe and Asia.
Following the Black Death in the mid-fourteenth century, and the weakening of Mongol rule, the closing of overland routes between Europe and Asia once again created a bottleneck that flowed through the Middle East, trade flows that were largely controlled by Venice and Egypt.
Similar: the plague, the bubonic plague, the Black Plague
Translations
Every language
name 14th century pandemic outbreak
| Español | peste negra |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 흑사병 heuksabyeong |
| 日本語 | 黒死病 kokushibyō |
| 中文 | 黑死病 hēisǐbìng |
| Português | peste negra |
| Français | peste noire |
| Deutsch | Beulenpest, schwarzer Tod |
| Italiano | peste nera |
| Ελληνικά | Μαύρη Πανώλη Mávri Panóli |
| Română | moartea neagră, ciumă, pestă |
| Русский | чёрная смерть čórnaja smertʹ, чёрный мор čórnyj mor |
| Tiếng Việt | Cái Chết Đen |
| العربية | الطّاعُونُ aṭ-ṭāʕūnu, مَوْت أَسْوَد mawt ʔaswad |
| עברית | המוות השחור |
Talk about this word "Black Death." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/black%20death. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Black Death. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/black%20death "Black Death." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/black%20death.Cite this
@misc{black_death_2026,
title = {Black Death},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/black%20death},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
