BUBONIC PLAGUE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Bubonic plague

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noun

Bubonic plague n. (Med.) A severe and often fatal disease caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly Pasteurella pestis), transmitted to man by the bite of fleas, themselves usually infected by biting infected rodents. It is characterized by the formation of buboes, most notably on the groin and armpits, and accompanied by weakness and high fever. The disease was known as the black death, and was responsible for several devastating plagues throughout the middle ages. When lungs became infected, the disease was called the pneumonic plague. It is still found occasionally in poor areas of undeveloped countries but is rare in developed countries.

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Etymology of 'Bubonic plague'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Bubonic plague" Quotes from Famous Books

... it's plague. But if Professor Silk Hat, in there, officially declared it such, he'd have bracelets on his arms in twelve hours. The present Government of Caracuia doesn't believe in bubonic plague. I fancy our unfortunate friend in there will presently disappear, either just before or just after ...

— The Unspeakable Perk • Samuel Hopkins Adams

... war had been increased by the deadly bubonic plague which appeared in Europe early in 1348. In April it had reached Florence; by August it was devastating France and Germany; it then spread over England from the southwest northward, attacking every part of the country during the year 1349. This disease, like other terrible ...

— An Introduction to the History of Western Europe • James Harvey Robinson

... swelling of a lymph node, especially in the area of the armpit or groin, that is characteristic of bubonic plague and syphilis. ...

— Mother's Remedies - Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers - of the United States and Canada • T. J. Ritter

Words linked to "Bubonic plague" : plague, Black Plague, pestis bubonica, pestis ambulans, pest, ambulatory plague