Pestilential
/ˌpɛstɪˈlɛnʃəl/noun
Relating to or causing pestilence; highly harmful or destructive.
Did you know?Pestilential comes from the same Latin root as pestilence, and in medieval usage it could describe not just disease but anything thought to spread ruin like a contagion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peis-
“to crush, hurt, or damage”
Latin
Latin
pestis
“plague, pestilence, destructive disease”
Latin
Latin
pestilens
“causing pestilence, destructive”
Old French
Old French
pestilent
“deadly, harmful, plague-ridden”
Middle English
English
pestilencial
“deadly, pestilential; relating to plague”
Modern English
English
pestilential
“relating to or causing pestilence; extremely harmful or noxious”
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