n.
- a contagious bacterial disease characterized by fever and delirium, typically with the formation of buboes (see bubonic plague) and sometimes infection of the lungs (pneumonic plague).
- an unusually large number of insects or animals infesting and causing damage to a place:
a plague of locusts.
v.
(plagues, plaguing, plagued)
cause continual trouble or distress to.
▸pester or harass continually.
Etymology
ME: L. plaga ‘stroke, wound’, prob. from Gk (Doric dial.) plaga, from a base meaning ‘strike’.