the.com/plague
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means A devastating epidemic disease — especially the bacterial infection that killed millions in medieval Europe — or, more loosely, any widespread affliction or relentless torment.
from From Latin plaga, meaning a 'blow,' 'wound,' or 'stroke' — the same sense behind being struck down. It came into English through Latin and Old French, carrying the idea that disaster lands like a hit. The biblical 'plagues' of Egypt sharpened the word's apocalyptic flavor, and the verb sense ('to plague someone') keeps the original bruising metaphor alive: to be plagued is to be repeatedly struck.
- flea-powered
- Spread by fleas on rats, not human breath
- death toll
- Killed up to half of medieval Europe
- still here
- Plague still infects thousands yearly, now curable
- plague doctors
- Beaked masks stuffed with herbs against bad air
- dance origin
- Ring Around the Rosie has no proven plague link
black death — killed 75-200 million people in eurasia and north africa, 1347-1353
justinian plague — killed an estimated 25-50 million in the byzantine empire, 541-549 ce
third cholera pandemic — killed over 1 million people across asia and europe, 1852-1860