Plague (?), n. [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to strike; cf. L. 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.
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And men blasphemed God for the plague of hail. Wyclif.
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The different plague of each calamity. Shak.
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2. (Med.) 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.
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Cattle plague. See Rinderpest. -- Plague mark, Plague spot, a spot or mark of the plague; hence, a token of something incurable.
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