Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Plague

Plague (plāg), n. [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. πληγή, fr. πλήσσειν to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.] 1. That which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or vexation. Shak.

And men blasphemed God for the plague of hail. Wyclif.

The different plague of each calamity. Shak.

2. (Med.) An acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London plague. "A plague upon the people fell." Tennyson.

Cattle plague. See Rinderpest. — Plague mark, Plague spot, a spot or mark of the plague; hence, a token of something incurable.

Plague, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plagued; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaguing.] 1. To infest or afflict with disease, calamity, or natural evil of any kind.

Thus were they plagued And worn with famine. Milton.

2. Fig.: To vex; to tease; to harass.

She will plague the man that loves her most. Spenser.

Syn. — To vex; torment; distress; afflict; harass; annoy; tease; tantalize; trouble; molest; embarrass; perplex.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.