PESTILENCE

pestilence, canker

(noun) a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of; “racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation”; “according to him, I was the canker in their midst”

plague, pestilence, pest

(noun) any epidemic disease with a high death rate

plague, pestilence, pest, pestis

(noun) a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

pestilence (countable and uncountable, plural pestilences)

Any epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious, virulent and devastating.

(archaic) Anything harmful to morals or public order.

Proper noun

Pestilence

The personification of pestilence, often depicted riding a white horse.

Synonyms

• Conquest

• the white rider

Source: Wiktionary

Pes"ti*lence, n. Etym: [F. pestilence, L. pestilentia. See Pestilent.]

1. Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence, any contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. The pestilence That walketh in darkness. Ps. xci. 6.

2. Fig.: That which is pestilent, noxious, or pernicious to the moral character of great numbers. I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. Shak. Pestilence weed (Bot.), the butterbur coltsfoot (Petasites vulgaris), so called because formerly considered a remedy for the plague. Dr. Prior.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition