Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Plague \Plague\, n. [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to
   Gr. ?, fr. ? to strike; cf. L. plangere to strike, beat. Cf.
   {Plaint}.]
   1. That which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a
      calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or
      vexation. --Shak.

            And men blasphemed God for the plague of hail.
                                                  --Wyclif.

            The different plague of each calamity. --Shak.

   2. (Med.) An acute malignant contagious fever, that often
      prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times
      visited the large cities of Europe with frightful
      mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London
      plague. ``A plague upon the people fell.'' --Tennyson.

   {Cattle plague}. See {Rinderpest}.

   {Plague mark}, {Plague spot}, a spot or mark of the plague;
      hence, a token of something incurable.

Cattle \Cat"tle\ (k[a^]t"t'l), n. pl. [OE. calet, chatel, goods,
   property, OF. catel, chatel, LL. captale, capitale, goods,
   property, esp. cattle, fr. L. capitals relating to the head,
   chief; because in early ages beasts constituted the chief
   part of a man's property. See {Capital}, and cf. {Chattel}.]
   Quadrupeds of the Bovine family; sometimes, also, including
   all domestic quadrupeds, as sheep, goats, horses, mules,
   asses, and swine.

   {Belted cattle}, {Black cattle}. See under {Belted}, {Black}.
      

   {Cattle guard}, a trench under a railroad track and alongside
      a crossing (as of a public highway). It is intended to
      prevent cattle from getting upon the track.

   {cattle louse} (Zo["o]l.), any species of louse infecting
      cattle. There are several species. The {H[ae]matatopinus
      eurysternus} and {H. vituli} are common species which suck
      blood; {Trichodectes scalaris} eats the hair.

   {Cattle plague}, the rinderpest; called also {Russian cattle
      plague}.

   {Cattle range}, or {Cattle run}, an open space through which
      cattle may run or range. [U. S.] --Bartlett.

   {Cattle show}, an exhibition of domestic animals with prizes
      for the encouragement of stock breeding; -- usually
      accompanied with the exhibition of other agricultural and
      domestic products and of implements.

Source : WordNet®

cattle plague
     n : an acute infectious viral disease of cattle (usually fatal);
         characterized by fever and diarrhea and inflammation of
         mucous membranes [syn: {rinderpest}]