pestiferous
Meanings
adj
- containing organisms that cause contagious diseases
- annoying, vexatious
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Mid 15th century, in sense “mischievous, pernicious”, from Latin pestiferus (“bearing plague”), from pestifer, from pestis (“plague”) + ferre (“carry”) (see infer). By surface analysis, pest + -i- (“bearing, carrying”) + -ferous.
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