Pest

Meaning

1. (definite,feminine,usually) bubonic plague, the plague
2. (feminine,in-compounds) any of various unrelated epidemic diseases affecting animals
3. (feminine,figuratively) anything that negatively affects vast areas, especially a natural disaster
4. (feminine,figuratively,informal) anything terrible or odious

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pɛst/

Etymology

16th century, from Latin pestis, in part through Middle French peste. Popular shortening of Middle High German pestilencie (14th c.), from related Latin pestilentia, may also have contributed (though this is impossible to prove).

Sentences

Nach Krieg und Pest war die Gemeinde auf neun Familien zusammengeschrumpft.

After war and plague, the community had shrunk to nine families.