pest

nounattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//pɛst//

Any destructive insect that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.

noun

1
archaicA pestilence, i.e. a deadly epidemic, a deadly plague.
From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, pests and famines are reflections of the current administration’s lack of moral values and deviation from divine will. The head of the administration (the emperor in the past) would then issue an edict to sincerely repent and correct his wrongdoings.
2
Any destructive insect that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.
3
An annoying person, a nuisance.
4
An animal regarded as a nuisance, destructive, or a parasite, vermin.
5
An invasive weed.

Etymology

In the 16th century in the sense of "pestilence" and specifically bubonic plague from Middle French peste (“pestilence”) (whence French peste). The other meanings are recorded soon after. Ultimately from Latin pestis.

Forms

plural: pests

perverse · Turned aside while against something, splitting off from a…pervert · A person whose sexual habits are not considered acceptable.perverted · Deviating from what is normally considered right, normal or…

pest · Any destructive insect that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.

Pest · The corresponding part of the current-day city of Budapest,…pestering · An act or instance of annoying somebody.pet · An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure,…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.