the plague
Medieval epidemic scourge
The plague refers specifically to bubonic plague, the devastating bacterial disease that killed millions across medieval Europe—the Black Death.
The definite article signals this particular catastrophe: Half the village died of the plague.
More loosely, avoid like the plague means to shun something completely, treating any undesirable thing as if it were that historic killer.
- Black DeathMedieval bubonic plague pandemic
- scourgeCause of mass suffering
- flagellantsThose who whip themselves
- Yersinia pestisBacterium causing plague
- pandemicGlobal disease outbreak
quarantine · bring out your dead · Decameron · curse · literary allegory · memento mori · zoonosis · mass graves · death toll · danse macabre · affliction · folklore · calamity · social upheaval · fleas · existential threat · boils · superstition
the plagueperfect health
Complete physical wellbeing
robust health · common cold · wellness · good health · clean bill of health
the plaguedivine favor
Sacred approval or blessing
benediction · godsend · boon · prosperity · flourishing