English > pestis: 1 sense > noun 1, state| Meaning | A serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal. |
|---|
| Synonyms | plague, pestilence, pest |
|---|
| Narrower | bubonic plague, pestis bubonica, glandular plague | The most common form of the plague in humans |
|---|
| pneumonic plague, pulmonic plague, plague pneumonia | A rapidly progressive and frequently fatal form of the plague that can spread through the air from person to person |
| septicemic plague | An especially dangerous and generally fatal form of the plague in which infecting organisms invade the bloodstream |
| Broader | epidemic disease | Any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people |
|---|
| Spanish | peste, pestilencia, pestis, plaga |
|---|
| Catalan | pesta, pestis, plaga |
|---|