murrain

American  

[mur-in] / ˈmɜr ɪn /

noun

1. Veterinary Pathology. any of various diseases of cattle, as anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, and Texas fever.

2. Obsolete. a plague or pestilence.

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murrain British  

/ ˈmʌrɪn /

noun

1. any plaguelike disease in cattle

2. a plague

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Etymology

Origin of murrain

1300–50; Middle English moreine, moryne < Middle French morine a plague, equivalent to mor ( ir ) to die (≪ Latin morī ) + -ine -ine ²

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Explanation

A livestock disease that passes from animal to animal is called a murrain. The distinctive thing about a murrain is that it spreads rapidly. A murrain is an epidemic that's limited to sheep and cattle, though the term is sometimes used to refer generally to a plague or other outbreak of disease. This uncommon noun comes from the Old French word morine, or "pestilence," which is probably rooted in mourir, "to die," from the Latin mori.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

murrain

Once again last week, as it had every year since 1911, Sweden's Taxeringskalender was proving a boon to the boastful, a murrain to the miserly and a surefire smash in the bookstalls.

From Time Magazine Archive

"A murrain on his thick-headedness; fair Sir, I cannot rightly tell what he doth mean."

From The Winning of the Golden Spurs by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

He’d better go an’ ask some of the neighbors ef it was the murrain sure ’nuf.”

From The History of Louisville, from the Earliest Settlement till the Year 1852 by Ben Casseday

Ho! come not too nearly, master," he sang out, when he saw me, "for these pieces be tickle things, a murrain of 'em!

From Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur F. Wallis

The murrain had not slain their cattle, nor the locusts devoured their land, nor the darkness obscured their dwellings.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus by G. A. Chadwick

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