pest
Pronunciation: /pɛst/
The English word “pest” has 5 meanings listed here.
noun
- A pestilence, i.e. a deadly epidemic, a deadly plague.
- Any destructive insect that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.
- An annoying person, a nuisance.
- An animal regarded as a nuisance, destructive, or a parasite, vermin.
- An invasive weed.
Etymology
In the 16th century in the sense of "pestilence" and specifically bubonic plague from Middle French peste (“pestilence”) (whence French peste). The other meanings are recorded soon after. Ultimately from Latin pestis.
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.