Where does “pestilence” come from?
pestilence (Old French) comes from Latin pestilentia, from Latin pestilentus, from Latin -ilentus, from Latin -entus, from Latin cruentus, from Latin cruor, from Proto-Indo-European krewh₂- — blood outside the body.
pestilence (Old French): pestilence
Ancestry of “pestilence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | pestilentia | infectious or contagious disease; plague,... |
| 2 | Latin | pestilentus | pestilential, unhealthy |
| 3 | Latin | -ilentus | adjective-forming suffix meaning abounding in,... |
| 4 | Latin | -entus | adjective-forming suffix meaning abounding in,... |
| 5 | Latin | cruentus | bloody in its various senses, "particularly:" |
| 6 | Latin | cruor | blood, gore; murder, bloodshed |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | krewh₂- | blood outside the body |
Words derived from “pestilence”