pestilence

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pestilence^¹

/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/
/ˈpɛstɪlən(t)s/
/ˈpɛstlən(t)s/
/ˈpɛstələn(t)s/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pestilentia (“plague”), from pestilens (“infected, unwholesome, noxious”); equivalent to pestilent + -ence.

noun pestilences

countable, uncountable Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating. 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVII, Chapter iii, leaf 347r and hit was in the realme of Logrys and soo bifelle grete pestylence & grete harme to both Realmes "And it was in the realm of Logris; and so befell great pestilence and great harm to both realms."
Similar: plague, murrain
archaic, countable, uncountable Anything harmful to morals or public order.

Pestilence^²

proper noun

The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.
Similar: Conquest, the white rider

Translations

Every language

noun any highly contagious epidemic disease

Español	pestilencia
日本語	疫病 ekibyō
中文	瘟疫 wēnyì, 大札 dàzhá
हिन्दी	महामारी mahāmārī, जनपदमारी janpadmārī, वबा vabā, ताऊन tāūn
Português	peste
Français	peste
Deutsch	Pest, Seuche
Italiano	pestilenza
Ελληνικά	επιδημία epidimía, λοιμός loimós, πανδημία pandimía
Română	pestilență, ciumă
Русский	мор mor, чума́ čumá
עברית	מַגֵּפָה magefá

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MLA

"pestilence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pestilence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pestilence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pestilence

Chicago

"pestilence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pestilence.

BibTeX

@misc{pestilence_2026,
  title = {pestilence},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pestilence},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}