Black Death

noun

1. a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population.

Black Death

noun

1. a form of bubonic plague pandemic in Europe and Asia during the 14th century, when it killed over 50 million people See bubonic plague

Black Death

1. An epidemic of plague, especially its bubonic form, that occurred in outbreaks between 1347 and 1400. It originated in Asia and then swept through Europe, where it killed about a third of the population.

Black Death

1. A disease that killed nearly half the people of western Europe in the fourteenth century. It was a form of the bubonic plague.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Black Death¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Researchers have traced long-standing myths about the rapid spread of the Black Death across Asia to a single source from the fourteenth century.

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"This teenager has the ancient DNA of the bacteria of the Black Death, of the Bubonic plague, which is really exciting," Mr Lawson said.

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The plague — aka the Black Death, aka the Great Pestilence — is rarely contracted today, yet it recently infected a South Lake Tahoe resident.

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During the Middle Ages, infected rats were to blame for the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century.

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Plague, known as the "Black Death" in the 14th century, killed up to half of Europe's population.

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