Where does “plague” come from?
Plague comes from Middle English plage, from Old French plage, from Latin plaga meaning a blow or stroke, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European plak-.
plague (English): The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused...
Definitions
- The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused...
Ancestry of “plague”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | plage | plague |
| 2 | Old French | plage | — |
| 3 | Latin | plāga | plague, misfortune |
| 4 | Latin | plagius | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πλάγιος | placed sideways, slanting, aslant |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ῐος | belonging to; of”, “belonging to”, “pertaining to |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
Words derived from “plague”