murrain
Meanings
- Infectious disease; pestilence, plague; (countable) sometimes used in curses such as a murrain on someone: an outbreak of such a disease; a plague.
- A widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution; a plague.
- Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic thereof; also, an infectious disease affecting other animals, such as poultry.
- An infectious disease affecting plants.
- A poor-quality green-salted animal hide.
- Death, especially from an infectious disease.
- Rotting flesh, especially of an animal which has died from a disease; carrion.
- Disgusting or offensive, as if having an infectious disease; contemptible, despicable, loathsome, plaguey.
- Used as an intensifier: to a great extent; extreme, intense.
- Used as an intensifier: extremely, very.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”). The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Italian morìa (“plague”) * Latin morticīnus (“that has died naturally, dead; (relational) carrion”) (Medieval Latin morticinium) * Occitan moria (“death; plague”) * Old French morie (“death”) mourie (“flesh of animals that have died of disease”) (Middle French murie) * Portuguese morrinha (“cattle plague”) * Spanish morriña (“cattle plague”)