\Pes"ti*lence\, n. [F. pestilence, L. pestilentia.
See {Pestilent}.]
1. Specifically, the disease known as the plague; hence, any
   contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent
   and devastating.

         The pestilence That walketh in darkness. --Ps. xci.
                                               6.

2. Fig.: That which is pestilent, noxious, or pernicious to
   the moral character of great numbers.

         I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. --Shak.

{Pestilence weed} (Bot.), the butterbur coltsfoot ({Petasites
   vulgaris}), so called because formerly considered a remedy
   for the plague. --Dr. Prior.