Pestilens

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Infectious and deadly, this term describes something that spreads disease
2. Characterizing a harmful influence that can cause significant suffering or illness
3. Referring to a contagious agent or condition that leads to widespread infection and distress

Etymology: "Pestilens" is the Latin source of English "pestilent," and in Latin it was a plain adjective meaning unhealthy, infectious, or harmful, applied to anything that caused sickness or ruin. It was built from "pestis," meaning plague or deadly epidemic, with the suffix "-ilens" attaching the quality of being full of or prone to that thing. Latin speakers used it for bad air, a noxious climate, and figuratively for a destructive person or influence, so its sense of harm was broader than disease alone. English took the word over with its Latin sense intact, and the spread of the meaning from physical contagion to moral corruption followed the same path as its Latin use. Writers described a "pestilent" influence in the way they might describe a sick body, which is why the word still carries a whiff of contagion when it describes ideas, people, or fashions.

Synonyms: pestilent, infectious, contagious

Antonyms: healthy, wholesome