pest

plague

(plāg),

1. Any disease of wide prevalence or of excessive mortality.

2. An acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and marked clinically by high fever, toxemia, prostration, a petechial eruption, lymph node enlargement, pneumonia, or hemorrhage from the mucous membranes; primarily a disease of rodents, transmitted to humans by fleas that have bitten infected animals. In humans the disease takes one of four clinical forms: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, pneumonic plague, or ambulant plague Synonym(s): pest, pestilence (1) , pestis

[G. plege, a stroke, a wound; L. plaga, a stroke, injury]

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

pest

(pĕst)

n.

1. An organism, typically an insect, that sickens or annoys humans, hampers human activities, damages crops or food products, harms livestock, or causes damage to buildings.

2. A deadly epidemic disease; a pestilence.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

pest

Medical history
Plague, pestilence.
 
Medspeak
A nonspecific term for any undesirable animal or insect.
 
Vox populi
An annoying, irritating person.

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PEST

Abbreviation for:
political, economic, social and technological

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

pest

any organism that causes nuisance to man, either economically or medically. Our classification of pests is constantly changing and is very dependent on economic circumstances. For example, the fungus causing apple scab is treated as a pest in the UK because it disfigures the fruit. In poorer countries, however, such cosmetic qualities of apples are less important and the fungus is not considered a pest.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005