murrain

American  

[mur-in] / ˈmɜr ɪn /

noun

1. Veterinary Pathology. any of various diseases of cattle, as anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, and Texas fever.

2. Obsolete. a plague or pestilence.

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murrain British  

/ ˈmʌrɪn /

noun

1. any plaguelike disease in cattle

2. a plague

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Etymology

Origin of murrain

1300–50; Middle English moreine, moryne < Middle French morine a plague, equivalent to mor ( ir ) to die (≪ Latin morī ) + -ine -ine ²

Example Sentences

Once again last week, as it had every year since 1911, Sweden's Taxeringskalender was proving a boon to the boastful, a murrain to the miserly and a surefire smash in the bookstalls.

From Time Magazine Archive

Tin Egin was a forced fire or fire of necessity which cured the plague and murrain amongst cattle.

From Fishes, Flowers, and Fire as Elements and Deities in the Phallic Faiths and Worship of the Ancient Religions of Greece, Babylon, by Anonymous

"A murrain take you," says the justice, more purple than before, for this was a stab in a tender place.

From The Wayfarers by Snaith, J. C.

He’d better go an’ ask some of the neighbors ef it was the murrain sure ’nuf.”

From The History of Louisville, from the Earliest Settlement till the Year 1852 by Casseday, Ben

At last the strong-minded female was compelled to give in; fire was obtained—-but of bad quality, for it did not stop the murrain.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various