GC: n
S: FAO – https://www.fao.org/pest-and-pesticide-management/guidelines-standards/faowho-joint-meeting-on-pesticide-residues-jmpr/en/ (last access: 28 September 2024); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208345/ (last access: 28 September 2024).
N:1. pest (n.): 1550s (in imprecations, “a pest upon ,” etc.), “plague, pestilence,” from Middle French peste (1530s), from Latin pestis “deadly contagious disease; a curse, bane,” of uncertain origin. Meaning “noxious or troublesome person or thing” first recorded c.1600.
2. pest. Any organism, usually an animal, judged as a threat to humans. Most pests either compete with humans for natural resources or transmit disease to humans, their crops, or their livestock. Invertebrate pests include some protozoans, flatworms, nematodes, mollusks, arachnids, and especially insects. Mammals and birds can also be pests. Human activities, such as monocultural farming practices, use of broad-spectrum pesticides, and introduction of exotic species, often result in the proliferation of pest species. Certain fungi, bacteria, and viruses are also considered pests. Plant pests are usually called weeds.
plague. Infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium transmitted from rodents to humans by the bite of infected fleas. Plague was the cause of some of the most-devastating epidemics in history. It was the disease behind the Black Death of the 14th century, when as much as one-third of Europe’s population died. Huge pandemics also arose in Asia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually spreading around the world and causing millions of deaths. Today, thanks to strict public health measures and modern antibiotics, plague no longer strikes great numbers of people, nor is it as deadly for those whom it strikes. Nevertheless, it still persists in some parts of the world where large populations of wild or domestic rodents harbour the fleas and occasionally pass them to humans.
A plague is any organism judged as a threat to human beings or to their interests. When early man hunted animals and foraged for food, he shared the natural resources with other organisms in the community. As human culture developed and population rose, people made ever-increasing demands on these resources. One result of changing the environment has been a great increase in the number of species that are now recognized as competitors of humans. These competitors are usually referred to as pests. The definition of pest is, of course, subjective. An ecologist would not necessarily consider several leaf-eating caterpillars on a plant as pests, whereas a gardener who cultivated the plant might very well do so. And only one bat, rat, or mouse is enough to qualify as a household pest.
3. Plant Diseases; Animal Pests (Crops); Weed Science; Crop Protection: pest.
- Any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products.
- pest: term extracted from the Plant Health Glossary of Terms of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
- pest: term and definition officially approved by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2015
4. Terminology disambiguation: It’s important to take into account the problems that usually occur when translating pest into Spanish, because there is a “crossed translation” between “plague” and “pest”. “Pest” is translated as plaga, and “plague” as peste, referring to the “bubonic plague”.
- pest (EN) = plaga (ES), organisme nuisible, bioagresseur (des cultures) (FR);
- plague or scourge (EN) = azote, plaga (ES), fléau (FR), plaie (FR);
- plague (EN) = peste (ES), peste (FR);
- black plague or bubonic plague (EN) = peste bubónica (ES), peste bubonique (FR);
- Black Death (EN) = peste negra (ES), peste noire (FR);
- white plague (EN)= tuberculosis (ES), tuberculose (FR).
5. Collocations:
- Adj.: common | serious | agricultural, crop, garden, plant | insect | sex (in newspapers) Police are looking for a sex pest who is frightening late-night travellers.
- Verb + pest: control, eradicate These birds provide a useful function in controlling insect pests.
- Pest + noun: control, controller, management | population.
6. Cultural Interrelation: We can refer to Pest (2022), a novel written by Elizabeth Foscue.
We can also mention The Plagues of Egypt from The Bible (“plague” and not “pest” in this special case).
S: 1. Etymonline – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pest&searchmode=none (last access: 4 September 2014). 2. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/summary/pest-vermin, https://www.britannica.com/science/plague (last access: 28 September 2024). 3. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=organisme+nuisible&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 28 September 2024). 4. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scourge (last access: 28 September 2024); Larousse – https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/anglais-francais/plague/602373 (last access: 28 September 2024); GDT – https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/fiche-gdt/fiche/8360173/organisme-nuisible (consulta: 28 September 2024); NAVARRO (last access: 4 September 2014); FCB. 5. ODC – http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/search1?word=pest (last access: 9 June 2015). 6. GR – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59110387-pest (last access: 28 September 2024); Biblegateway – https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=plague&version=NIV (last access: 28 September 2024); FCB.
SYN: plant pest
S: TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=organisme+nuisible&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 28 September 2024)
