murrain
UK /ˈmʌɹ(ɪ)n/ · US /ˈmʌɹən/ noun, adjective, adverb
Forms murrains murrein murrion
- noun (archaic, uncountable) Infectious disease; pestilence, plague; (countable) sometimes used in curses such as a murrain on someone: an outbreak of such a disease; a plague.
- noun (countable, figurative, archaic) A widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution; a plague.
- noun (countable, veterinary medicine, chiefly historical) Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic thereof; also, an infectious disease affecting other animals, such as poultry. “water murrain”
- noun (countable, by extension, phytopathology) An infectious disease affecting plants. “potato murrain”
- noun (countable) A poor-quality green-salted animal hide.
- noun (uncountable) Death, especially from an infectious disease.
- noun (uncountable) Rotting flesh, especially of an animal which has died from a disease; carrion.
- adjective Disgusting or offensive, as if having an infectious disease; contemptible, despicable, loathsome, plaguey.
- adjective Used as an intensifier: to a great extent; extreme, intense.
- adverb (figurative, obsolete) Used as an intensifier: extremely, very.
Synonyms
abject filthy base beggarly blameworthy carrion cheap choical contemptible cringing damnable dedecorous degraded deplorable deridable derisible despicable despisable dirty discreditable
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”).
The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun.
* Italian morìa (“plague”)
* Latin morticīnus (“that has died naturally, dead; (relational) carrion”) (Medieval Latin morticinium)
* Occitan moria (“death; plague”)
* Old French morie (“death”) mourie (“flesh of animals that have died of disease”) (Middle French murie)
* Portuguese morrinha (“cattle plague”)
* Spanish morriña (“cattle plague”)
Webster’s 1913
- noun An infectious and fatal disease among cattle. Bacon. A murrain on you, may you be afflicted with a pestilent disease. Shak.
- adjective Having, or afflicted with, murrain.
Etymology [OE. moreine, OF. morine, fr. OF. morir, murir, 8die, L. mori, moriri.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “murrain”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details