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Noun: pestis
Usage: rare (=plague)
  1. 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
    "The Black Death was caused by Yersinia pestis";
    - plague, pestilence, pest [archaic]

Derived forms: pestises

Type of: epidemic disease

Encyclopedia: Pestis