Etymograph

English

plague

Plague comes from Latin plāga ‘blow, wound’, from plangō ‘to strike’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂k-1‘to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangō2‘to strike’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplāga2‘blow, wound’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400plage2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plage2
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595plague2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin plango
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English plague
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “A plague a both the Houſes, I am sped:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂k-Wiktionary, Latin plango‘to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāngōWiktionary, Latin plangoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplangōWiktionary, English plague‘to strike’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplāgaWiktionary, English plague‘blow, wound’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400plageWiktionary, English plague
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plageWiktionary, English plague
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595plagueWiktionary, English plague. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “A plague a both the Houſes, I am sped:…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- ‘to strike’

launch, plant, lance, fling, 11 more

through Latin plangō ‘to strike’

complain, peel, plaintive, 2 more

through Latin plāga ‘blow, wound’

playa, plage, 4 more

Today it means

noun The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plague”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin plango. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- / plague

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