Definition

Proper noun A specific, devastating pandemic of bubonic plague that swept through Europe and Asia in the mid-14th century, causing extremely high mortality.

Usage

"Black Death" is used as a proper noun to refer to this singular historical event. It is typically preceded by the definite article "the." * Historians study the social and economic impacts of the Black Death. * The Black Death is believed to have originated in Asia. * Many artworks from the period depict the terror of the Black Death.

Advanced Usage

• The Black Death can be used metaphorically to describe any catastrophic, widespread disaster, though this is a literary device.
  • The invasive species spread like the Black Death, decimating the local ecosystem.

Variants and Related Words

• Bubonic plague (noun): The specific bacterial disease caused by , which was the pathogen responsible for the Black Death.
• Pandemic (noun): A disease outbreak that spreads over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population.
• Plague (noun): Can refer broadly to any contagious bacterial disease characterized by fever and delirium, or specifically to bubonic plague.

Synonyms

• The Great Mortality
• The Pestilence (historical term)
• The Plague (when used in specific historical context)

Related Phrases

• To be a black death on... (idiom, rare): To have a severely ruinous or destructive effect on something.
  • The corrupt policy was a black death on the nation's economy.

Noun

1. the epidemic form of bubonic plague experienced during the Middle Ages when it killed nearly half the people of western Europe