English
plague
Plague comes from Latin plāga ‘blow, wound’, from plangō ‘to strike’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂k-‘to strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangō‘to strike’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEplāga‘blow, wound’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595plague
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂k-‘to strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangō‘to strike’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEplāga‘blow, wound’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595plague
Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “A plague a both the Houſes, I am sped:…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- ‘to strike’
launch, plant, lance, fling, 11 more
through Latin plangō ‘to strike’
complain, peel, plaintive, 2 more
through Latin plāga ‘blow, wound’
Today it means
noun The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- / plague