pest

Where does the word "pest" come from? It comes from Latin pestis, passing through French before entering English (1550s).

Pest’s story begins in Latin: pestis meant “plague.” A deadly disease. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as peste. French 'peste' meant the plague itself; the sense 'troublesome person or thing' appears in English around 1600. It reached English by 1550s as pest. The sense 'annoying creature' dates from the 1600s. Today, pest means a destructive insect or animal; an annoying person.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient pestis "plague", a deadly disease.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1500s peste "plague", French 'peste' meant the plague itself; the sense 'troublesome person or thing' appears in English around 1600.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1550s pest "plague", the sense 'annoying creature' dates from the 1600s.