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Plague - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Plague : (noun)
1: a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by
Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans
by the bite of an infected rat flea (especially bubonic
plague)
2: any epidemic disease with a high death rate [syn: pestilence]
3: a swarm of insects that attack plants; "a plague of
grasshoppers" [syn: infestation]
4: any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent
by God)
5: an annoyance; "those children are a damn plague"
(verb)
1: cause to suffer a blight; "Too much rain may blight the
garden with mold" [syn: blight]
2: annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his
staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his
female co-workers" [syn: harass, hassle, harry, chivy,
chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, molest, provoke]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Plague : \Plague\, n. [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to
Gr. ?, fr. ? 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.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Plague : \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.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Plague : a "stroke" of affliction, or disease. Sent as a divine
chastisement (Num. 11:33; 14:37; 16:46-49; 2 Sam. 24:21).
Painful afflictions or diseases, (Lev. 13:3, 5, 30; 1 Kings
8:37), or severe calamity (Mark 5:29; Luke 7:21), or the
judgment of God, so called (Ex. 9:14). Plagues of Egypt were ten
in number.
(1.) The river Nile was turned into blood, and the fish died,
and the river stank, so that the Egyptians loathed to drink of
the river (Ex. 7:14-25).
(2.) The plague of frogs (Ex. 8:1-15).
(3.) The plague of lice (Heb. kinnim, properly gnats or
mosquitoes; comp. Ps. 78:45; 105:31), "out of the dust of the
land" (Ex. 8:16-19).
(4.) The plague of flies (Heb. arob, rendered by the LXX.
dog-fly), Ex. 8:21-24.
(5.) The murrain (Ex.9:1-7), or epidemic pestilence which
carried off vast numbers of cattle in the field. Warning was
given of its coming.
(6.) The sixth plague, of "boils and blains," like the third,
was sent without warning (Ex.9:8-12). It is called (Deut. 28:27)
"the botch of Egypt," A.V.; but in R.V., "the boil of Egypt."
"The magicians could not stand before Moses" because of it.
(7.) The plague of hail, with fire and thunder (Ex. 9:13-33).
Warning was given of its coming. (Comp. Ps. 18:13; 105:32, 33).
(8.) The plague of locusts, which covered the whole face of
the earth, so that the land was darkened with them (Ex.
10:12-15). The Hebrew name of this insect, _arbeh_, points to
the "multitudinous" character of this visitation. Warning was
given before this plague came.
(9.) After a short interval the plague of darkness succeeded
that of the locusts; and it came without any special warning
(Ex. 10:21-29). The darkness covered "all the land of Egypt" to
such an extent that "they saw not one another." It did not,
however, extend to the land of Goshen.
(10.) The last and most fearful of these plagues was the death
of the first-born of man and of beast (Ex. 11:4, 5; 12:29,30).
The exact time of the visitation was announced, "about
midnight", which would add to the horror of the infliction. Its
extent also is specified, from the first-born of the king to the
first-born of the humblest slave, and all the first-born of
beasts. But from this plague the Hebrews were completely
exempted. The Lord "put a difference" between them and the
Egyptians. (See PASSOVER.)
Based on Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [Bible_Dictionary]:
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Plague : Plague: The plague is an infectious disease due to a Yersinia pestis .
pestis and then they bite people and so transmit the disease to them.
Transmission of the plague to people can also occur from eating infected animals such as squirrels (e.g., in the southeastern U.S.) Once someone has the plague, they can transmit it to another
person via aerosol droplets.
History -- Yersinia is named after a Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre- Emile-Jean Yersin (1863-1943) who identified it in 1894 after a trip to Hong Kong looking for the agent that was
killing thousands of people in southern China. The same discovery was made at the same time by a Japanese bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasako.
The plague has been responsible for devastating epidemics. The disease occurs endemically (at a consistent but low level) in many countries including the United States. "La Peste" (The Plague), a
novel (1947) by the Nobel Prize-winning French writer Albert Camus (1913-1960) is set in the Algerian city of Oran overrun by a deadly epidemic of the plague.
Bioterrorism -- The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the US Congress, in a 1999 report considered plague to be a "possible, but not likely" biologic threat for terrorism,
as it is difficult to acquire a suitable strain of Y. pestis and to weaponize and distribute it. Seed stock is difficult to acquire and to process and heat, disinfectants and sunlight render it
harmless.
The plague is also known as pest and pestis.
Based on Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [Bible_Dictionary]:
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Example Usage of Plague |
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FluffyRona: Avoid VERY.CO.UK like the Plague - 6 months on and they STILL can't get their accounts right, claiming I owe them money.I don't & never have |
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whitneymcmanama: Foreclosure Plague slowing: Filings fall 8% - http://bit.ly/8Ot7hF #cnnmoney |
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mryetiface: @jfkisgr8 Poor kids should be sterilized to prevent the cycle of morons from continuing to Plague society. #tcot |
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