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.
Earlier research had indicated that ancient strains of Yersinia pestis lacked some of the genetic features that later allowed bubonic plague to spread efficiently through fleas and rodent hosts.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
Welcome to the challenges of writing the history of the Black Death, the great pandemic of bubonic plague that ravaged the late medieval world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The Black Death pandemic was primarily caused by bubonic plague.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
More than 80% of plague cases in the U.S. have been in the bubonic form, from which patients will develop swollen, painful lymph nodes called buboes, according to the CDC.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025
Alex is seventeen but he’s got bubonic zits and his body’s three sizes too large for him.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
