murrain

Meaning

Noun

1. (archaic, uncountable) Infectious disease; pestilence, plague; (countable) sometimes used in curses such as a murrain on someone: an outbreak of such a disease; a plague.
2. (archaic, countable, figuratively) A widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution; a plague.
3. (countable, historical) Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic thereof; also, an infectious disease affecting other animals, such as poultry.
4. (broadly, countable) An infectious disease affecting plants.
5. (countable, obsolete) A poor-quality green-salted animal hide.
6. (obsolete, uncountable) Death, especially from an infectious disease.
7. (obsolete, uncountable) Rotting flesh, especially of an animal which has died from a disease; carrion.

Adj

1. (figuratively, obsolete) Disgusting or offensive, as if having an infectious disease; contemptible, despicable, loathsome, plaguey.
2. (figuratively, obsolete) Used as an intensifier: to a great extent; extreme, intense.

Adv

Used as an intensifier: extremely, very.

Synonyms

rinderpest

plague

epizootic

foot-and-mouth disease

hasty

moor

pest

pestilence

cattle plague

pestilential disease

epidemic

Translations

morrinha

morriña

επιζωοτία

murriña

viruela ovina

Rinderkrankheit

lânet

murrain

pest

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmʌɹɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: moreyn

In summary

The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”).
The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian morìa (“plague”)
* Latin morticīnus (“that has died naturally, dead; (relational) carrion”) (Medieval Latin morticinium)
* Occitan moria (“death; plague”)
* Old French morie (“death”) mourie (“flesh of animals that have died of disease”) (Middle French murie)
* Portuguese morrinha (“cattle plague”)
* Spanish morriña (“cattle plague”)