pest

See also: Pest, pěst, and пест

English

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.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /pɛst/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

pest (plural pests)

  1. (now rare) A pestilence, i.e. a deadly epidemic, a deadly plague.
    • 2020 March 24, Qing Zhu, Zhang Ming, “Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, China Faces Plague of Locusts”, in Minghui[1]:
      From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, pests and famines are reflections of the current administration’s lack of moral values and deviation from divine will. The head of the administration (the emperor in the past) would then issue an edict to sincerely repent and correct his wrongdoings.
  2. Any destructive insect that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.
  3. An annoying person, a nuisance.
  4. An animal regarded as a nuisance, destructive, or a parasite, vermin.
  5. An invasive weed.

Synonyms

  • (creature): bug

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From French peste, from Latin pestis (disease, plague, pest, destruction).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɛst/, [pʰɛsd̥]

Noun

pest c (uncountable, singular definite pesten)

  1. (pathology) plague
  2. (figuratively) pestilence

Declension

Declension of pest
common
gender
singular
indefinite definite
nominative pest pesten
genitive pests pestens

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

pest f (uncountable, no diminutive)

  1. a plague, pest, pestilence
  2. a specific bovine plague
  3. an obnoxious person

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Negerhollands: pest
  • Indonesian: pes
  • Japanese: ペスト (pesuto)
  • Papiamentu: peste

Verb

pest

  1. inflection of pesten:
    1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

References

  • M. J. Koenen & J. Endepols, Verklarend Handwoordenboek der Nederlandse Taal (tevens Vreemde-woordentolk), Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969 (26th edition) [Dutch dictionary in Dutch]

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɛst/

Noun

pest f (Arabic spelling پەست)

  1. pressure, oppression

References

  • Chyet, Michael L. (2003), “pest”, in Kurdish–English Dictionary[2], with selected etymologies by Martin Schwartz, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, page 442

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin pestis.

Noun

pest f or m (definite singular pesta or pesten, indefinite plural pester, definite plural pestene)

  1. a plague
    sky (noe/noen) som pesten - avoid (something/someone) like the plague
    velge mellom pest og kolera - choose the lesser of two evils

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin pestis.

Noun

pest m (definite singular pesten, indefinite plural pestar, definite plural pestane)
pest f (definite singular pesta, indefinite plural pester, definite plural pestene)

  1. a plague
    sky (noko/nokon) som pesten - avoid (something/someone) like the plague
    velje mellom pest og kolera - choose the lesser of two evils

Derived terms

References

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

    Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pęstь.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /pêːst/

    Noun

    pȇst f (Cyrillic spelling пе̑ст)

    1. (regional, literary) fist

    Declension

    Declension of pest
    singular plural
    nominative pȇst pesti
    genitive pesti péstī
    dative pesti pestima
    accusative pest pesti
    vocative pesti pesti
    locative pesti pestima
    instrumental pesti/pešću pestima

    Slovene

    Etymology

      Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pęstь. First attested in the 16th century.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /péːst/

      Noun

      pẹ̑st f

      1. (anatomy) fist

      Declension

      The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
      Feminine, i-stem, long mixed accent
      nom. sing. pést
      gen. sing. pestí
      singular dual plural
      nominative
      (imenovȃlnik)
      pést pestí pestí
      genitive
      (rodȋlnik)
      pestí pestí pestí
      dative
      (dajȃlnik)
      pêsti pestéma pestém
      accusative
      (tožȋlnik)
      pést pestí pestí
      locative
      (mẹ̑stnik)
      pêsti pestéh pestéh
      instrumental
      (orọ̑dnik)
      pestjó pestéma pestmí

      Derived terms

      Swedish

      Etymology

      Ultimately from Latin pestis.

      Noun

      pest c

      1. A plague
      2. A pest; something deeply annoying

      Derived terms

      References

      Tocharian B

      Particle

      pest

      1. a perfectivizing particle used with verbs