peste

See also: pesté, pește, péste, and pēstē

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

• péste (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German beȥȥist, from Old High German beȥȥisto, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz (“best”). Cognate with German beste, English best.

Adjective

peste

1. superlative degree of guat

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

peste

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of pesten

Anagrams

• peest, speet, spete

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin pestis (“plague; pest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛst/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

peste f (plural pestes)

1. plague (disease)
2. (informal) brat

   Synonym: chipie

3. (informal, of a girl) pest

Interjection

peste

1. (dated) wow, oh my God, holy shit (an exclamation denoting surprise or astonishment)
   • Le marchand. - Peste ! peste ! comme vous y allez ! - (Alfred de Musset, Lorenzaccio, acte I, scène 2, 1834)
   • Peste !, s'écria Corcoran, vous êtes expéditif, seigneur Holkar. - (Alfred Assolant, Aventures merveilleuses mais authentiques du capitaine Corcoran, 1867)
   • Peste !, monsieur l'amiral est donc nécromant, pour savoir ainsi ce qui se fait à trente ou quarante lieues de distance ! - (Alexandre Dumas, La Reine Margot, 1845, volume I, chapitre III)
   • « Encore une robe neuve ? s'étonnait-il. Peste, Madame ! » - (Colette, Sido, 1930, Fayard, page 70)
   • Charlie ! dit le colonel Gregor, dont les pauvres yeux s'évertuaient à me mendier un sourire, peste ! On vous appelle déjà par votre prénom. - (Pierre Benoit, Le Soleil de minuit, Albin Michel, 1930, réédition Le Livre de Poche, page 147)

Derived terms

• empester
• entre la peste et le choléra
• fuir comme la peste
• peste bubonique
• peste noire
• peste porcine

Verb

peste

1. inflection of pester:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “peste”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• pètes, pétés

Italian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin pestis (“plague; pest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛs.te/
• Rhymes: -ɛste
• Hyphenation: pè‧ste

Noun

peste f (plural pesti)

1. (pathology) plague

   Guerra, peste e carestia, vanno sempre in compagnia.

   War, plague and famine always accompany each other.

2. (figurative) pest, nuisance (person)
3. (figurative) urchin (mischievous child)
4. (figurative) stench, unbearable smell

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpes.te/
• Rhymes: -este
• Hyphenation: pé‧ste

Adjective

peste

1. feminine plural of pesto

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpes.te/
• Rhymes: -este
• Hyphenation: pé‧ste

Noun

peste

1. plural of pesta (“footprint”)

Latin

Noun

peste

1. ablative singular of pestis

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin pestis (“plague; pest”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛs.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛs.t͡ʃi/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛʃ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛs.te/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɛst͡ʃi, (Portugal) -ɛʃtɨ
• Hyphenation: pes‧te

Noun

peste f (plural pestes)

1. plague
2. contagious disease
3. annoying person

Derived terms

• peste branca
• peste bubônica
• peste negra
• peste septicémica
• pestear
• pesteira
• pestinha
• pestoso

Related terms

• pesticida
• pestilento

Descendants

• → Tetum: peste

Further reading

• “peste”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “peste”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “peste”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “peste”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Alternative forms

• preste — archaic

Etymology

Compound of pre +‎ spre, possibly directly from Latin per (“through, along”) super (“above”). Was probably influenced or confused with per extra. Compare Aromanian pisti, pristi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpes.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Preposition

peste (+accusative)

1. over

Related terms

• pe

See also

• deasupra

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pestis (“plague, pest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeste/ [ˈpes.t̪e]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -este
• Syllabification: pes‧te

Noun

peste f (plural pestes)

1. plague
2. contagious disease
3. reek, unpleasant or repulsive smell

Derived terms

• apestar
• echar pestes
• hablar pestes
• peste bovina
• peste bubónica
• peste cristal
• peste negra
• soltar pestes

Related terms

• pesticida
• pestilencia
• pestilente

Descendants

• → Cebuano: pisti
• → Tagalog: peste

Further reading

• “peste”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrower from Spanish peste, from Latin pestis.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈpeste/ [ˈpɛs.t̪ɛ]
• Rhymes: -este
• Syllabification: pes‧te

Adjective

peste (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜐ᜔ᜆᜒ)

1. (vulgar, of a person) annoying

Noun

peste (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜐ᜔ᜆᜒ)

1. pest; plague; pestilence

   Synonyms: salot, epidemya

2. pest; vermin (destructive insect or small animal)

   Synonym: salot

3. (vulgar) pest; vermin (obnoxious person)

   Synonyms: asungot, buwisit, sakit sa ulo, salot

Derived terms

• mameste
• pestehin

See also

• hayop