English
pest
Pest comes from Middle French peste ‘pestilence’.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600peste‘pestilence’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020pest
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600peste‘pestilence’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020pest
Earliest quotation: 2020, Qing Zhu, Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, China Faces Plague of Locusts: “From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, pests and…”
The story
The other meanings are recorded soon after.
Every English word from Middle French peste
Today it means
noun A pestilence, i.e. a deadly epidemic, a deadly plague.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French peste / pest