n. - That which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or vexation.
n. - An acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London plague.
v. t. - To infest or afflict with disease, calamity, or natural evil of any kind.
v. t. - Fig.: To vex; to tease; to harass.