Black Death


noun
  1. a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population.

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Origin of Black Death

1
First recorded in 1815–25

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for Black Death

Black Death

noun
  1. the Black Death a form of bubonic plague pandemic in Europe and Asia during the 14th century, when it killed over 50 million people: See bubonic plague

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Black Death

Black Death

  1. An epidemic of plague, especially its bubonic form, that occurred in outbreaks between 1347 and 1400. It originated in Asia and then swept through Europe, where it killed about a third of the population.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for Black Death

Black Death

A disease that killed nearly half the people of western Europe in the fourteenth century. It was a form of the bubonic plague.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.