the Great Plague
/ðə ˌɡreɪt ˈpleɪɡ/
/ðə ˌɡreɪt ˈpleɪɡ/
- the serious and widespread attack of bubonic plague (= a disease causing fever, swellings and death) in London in 1664–5, when about one fifth of the population died. The disease was spread by the fleas (= insects that feed on blood) from rats and killed over 70 000 people. Most British people know about the plague from pictures, stories and films in which bodies are collected each morning in the streets. see also Black Death
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the Great Plague