murrain
mur·rain/ˈmʌɹən/noun
murrain is spelled M-U-R-R-A-I-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (mur·rain). It appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 182,517th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, murrain means “Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of murrain is murrains.
How many letters and syllables are in murrain?
| Letters | 7: M-U-R-R-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mur·rain |
| In writing | about once in every 35 million words; the 182,517th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is murrain?
Murrain appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 182,517th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce murrain?
- UK /ˈmʌɹ(ɪ)n/
- UK /-ɹeɪn/
- US /ˈmʌɹən/
Murrain has 2 syllables, split mur·rain in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-murrain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of murrain
- murrains plural
- murrein
- murrion
- more murrain comparative
- most murrain superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does murrain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicInfectious disease; pestilence, plague; (countable) sometimes used in curses such as a murrain on someone: an outbreak of such a disease; a plague.
- 2
archaicA widespread affliction, calamity, or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution; a plague.
- 3
Any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle or other livestock, such as anthrax, babesiosis, or rinderpest; or a particular epizootic thereof; also, an infectious disease affecting other animals, such as poultry.
water murrain
- 4
An infectious disease affecting plants.
potato murrain
- 5
obsoleteA poor-quality green-salted animal hide.
- 6
obsoleteDeath, especially from an infectious disease.
- 7
obsoleteRotting flesh, especially of an animal which has died from a disease; carrion.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteDisgusting or offensive, as if having an infectious disease; contemptible, despicable, loathsome, plaguey.
- 2
obsoleteUsed as an intensifier: to a great extent; extreme, intense.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteUsed as an intensifier: extremely, very.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Murrain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any of several highly infectious diseases of cattle, etc.; or a particular epizo:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does murrain come from?
The noun is derived from Late Middle English morein, morine, moreyn (“(widespread) death; widespread sickness, plague; fatal disease; carnage; carrion”), from Anglo-Norman morine, mourine, moreyn (“death; widespread sickness, plague; carrion; cattle disease”), Middle French morine, and Old French morine, mourine, murine (“widespread sickness, plague; animal which has died from a disease”), from Late Latin morina (“plague”), probably from Latin morior (“to die; to decay, wither”). The adjective and adverb are derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).