Definition of plague

plaguenoun

tai họa

/pleɪɡ//pleɪɡ/

The word "plague" derives from the Latin word "plaga," which means "stroke" or "blow." This word was adopted into Old French as "plaage" and came to mean "affliction" or "calamity." In the 14th century, during a devastating outbreak of the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, the word "plague" acquired its current meaning. The term was used to refer to this deadly disease due to the severe and profound impacts it was having on the population. The Black Death, which is estimated to have killed around 75-200 million people in Eurasia, was a global health catastrophe. The high death toll and the swiftness of the spread of the disease left a lasting impact on people's minds. The outbreak led to a significant shift in the way people thought about disease and death, leading to the evolution of medical practices and measures to mitigate the spread of diseases. The term "plague" continued to be used over time, as new diseases emerged, with similar devastating impacts on populations. Today, the word is used to describe any disease that results in widespread epidemics or pandemics, causing significant loss of life. The origin and evolution of the word "plague" are a testament to the ongoing, human battle against infectious diseases, and how our vocabulary evolves with our understanding and experiences of these diseases.

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a disease spread by rats that causes a high temperature, swellings (= areas that are larger and rounder than usual) on the body and usually death

một căn bệnh lây lan qua chuột gây ra nhiệt độ cao, sưng tấy (= những vùng lớn hơn và tròn hơn bình thường) trên cơ thể và thường tử vong

Example:
  • a decline in population following outbreaks of plague

    sự suy giảm dân số sau sự bùng phát của bệnh dịch hạch

Extra examples:
  • Fleas spread plague from animals to humans.

    Bọ chét truyền bệnh dịch hạch từ động vật sang người.

  • Nearly a third of the population died in the Great Plague.

    Gần một phần ba dân số đã chết trong trận Đại dịch hạch.

any disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people

bất kỳ căn bệnh nào lây lan nhanh chóng và giết chết nhiều người

Example:
  • the plague of AIDS

    đại dịch AIDS

Related words and phrases

large numbers of an animal or insect that come into an area and cause great damage

số lượng lớn động vật hoặc côn trùng xâm nhập vào một khu vực và gây ra thiệt hại lớn

Example:
  • a plague of locusts/rats, etc.

    một trận dịch châu chấu/chuột, v.v.

Extra examples:
  • The city is suffering a plague of rats.

    Thành phố đang phải hứng chịu nạn dịch chuột.

  • The region has just suffered a plague of locusts.

    Vùng này vừa hứng chịu nạn châu chấu.

Related words and phrases

Idioms

avoid somebody/something like the plague
(informal)to try very hard not to meet somebody, do something, etc.
  • She's been avoiding me like the plague since the party last Saturday.
  • I hate office parties—I avoid them like the plague.