Etymology
Origin of bubonic
Explanation
Anything bubonic has to do with inflamed lymph nodes. Symptoms of the bubonic plague include painful, hugely swollen nodes. We've got lymph nodes all over our body, including in the groin area — and the word bubonic derives from the Greek boubon, "groin." The word was commonly used for any swelling of the infection-fighting nodes until the 1820s, when it came to almost universally refer to the bubonic plague. Before antibiotics, this highly infectious disease killed up to 90 percent of those who were infected.
Vocabulary lists containing bubonic
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Too Bright to See
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Struggle in Medieval Europe, Lessons 3–5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Symptoms of the bubonic plague in humans typically appear within two to eight days after exposure and may include fever, chills, headache, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025
And if you go, is the employee at checkout yawning because of fatigue or the bubonic plague?
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025
Officials in central Oregon this week reported a case of bubonic plague in a resident who likely got the disease from a sick pet cat.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2024
During the 1600s, doctors believed nutmeg could be effective at warding off the bubonic plague and many people wore it tied around their necks.
From Salon • Dec. 11, 2023
The bubonic plague is a valid medieval fate; I do believe, though, that contracting the plague in this dreadful century would be only ludicrous.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
