Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be âsatanic.â However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
PLAGUE
plague
(noun) an annoyance; âthose children are a damn plagueâ
plague
(noun) any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)
infestation, plague
(noun) a swarm of insects that attack plants; âa plague of grasshoppersâ
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
harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, provoke
(verb) annoy continually or chronically; âHe is known to harry his staff when he is overworkedâ; âThis man harasses his female co-workersâ
blight, plague
(verb) cause to suffer a blight; âToo much rain may blight the garden with moldâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
plague (countable and uncountable, plural plagues)
(often used with the, sometimes capitalized: the Plague) The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.
(pathology) An epidemic or pandemic caused by any pestilence, but specifically by the above disease.
A widespread affliction, calamity or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution.
(figurative) A grave nuisance, whatever greatly irritates.
Collective noun for common grackles
Synonyms
• pest, pestilence
Verb
plague (third-person singular simple present plagues, present participle plaguing, simple past and past participle plagued)
(transitive) To harass, pester or annoy someone persistently or incessantly.
(transitive) To afflict with a disease or other calamity.
Source: Wiktionary
Plague, n. Etym: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. 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.)
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., âthe father of the brideâ instead of âthe brideâs fatherâ
Coffee Trivia
