murrain
1
9.9
A disease that spreads among farm animals and often kills many
- noun
- /ˈmɜːrən/
- Archaic
:
peste
- Historically, murrain devastated cattle populations, leading to economic hardship for many farmers.
Examples
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The farmer lost several cows to murrain, fearing the disease would spread to the rest of the herd.
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After the outbreak of murrain, the vet urged all livestock owners to monitor their animals closely.
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Some say a mutation of cattle murrain—an umbrella term—for diseases affecting cattle.
Blog text (28)
Compounds
How Deadly
Surface Forms
Etymology
Murrain comes from old words for 'disease' and 'death', and it shares the mor- part with mortal ('able to die'). It was used for a deadly, contagious illness that kills cows and other farm animals, which is why murrain means a disease that can wipe out herds.