a deadly disease, probably bubonic plague, which devastated Europe and Asia in the 14th cent.
Black Death in American English
noun
a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population
Word origin
[1815–25]This word is first recorded in the period 1815–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: aggressive, coupon, diorama, norm, reamer