1. plague : (1) (v.) late 15c., from Middle Dutch plaghen, from plaghe (n.) "plague" (see plague (n.)). Sense of "bother, annoy" it is first recorded 1590s. Related: Plagued; plaguing.

                 (2) (n.) late 14c., plage, "affliction, calamity, evil, scourge;" early 15c., "malignant disease," from Old French plage (14c.), from Late Latin plaga, used in Vulgate for "pestilence," from Latin plaga "stroke, wound," probably from root of plangere "to strike, lament (by beating the breast)," from or cognate with Greek (Doric) plaga "blow," from PIE *plak- (2) "to strike, to hit" (source also of Greek plazein "to drive away," plessein "to beat, strike;" Old English flocan "to strike, beat;" Gothic flokan "to bewail;" German fluchen, Old Frisian floka "to curse").

The Latin word also is the source of Old Irish plag (genitive plaige) "plague, pestilence," German Plage, Dutch plaage. Meaning "epidemic that causes many deaths" is from 1540s; specifically in reference to bubonic plague from c. 1600. Modern spelling follows French, which had plague from 15c. Weakened sense of "anything annoying" is from c. 1600.

2. evocation : 1570s, from Latin evocationem (nominative evocatio) "a calling forth, a calling from concealment," noun of action from past participle stem of evocare "call out, summon; call forth, rouse, appeal to," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vocare "to call" (see voice (n.)).

Evocatio was used of the Roman custom of petitioning the gods of an enemy city to abandon it and come to Rome; it also was used to translate the Platonic Greek anamnesis "a calling up of knowledge acquired in a previous state of existence."

3. invocation : late 14c., "petition (to God or a god) for aid or comfort; invocation, prayer;" also "a summoning of evil spirits," from Old French invocacion "appeal, invocation" (12c.), from Latin invocationem (nominative invocatio), noun of action from past participle stem of invocare "to call upon, invoke, appeal to" (see invoke).

4. discord : early 13c., descorde, "unfriendly feeling, ill will;" also "dissention, strife," from Old French descorde (12c.) "disagreement," from Latin discordia, from discors (genitive discordis) "disagreeing, disagreement," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + cor (genitive cordis) "heart," from PIE root *kerd- "heart" (see heart). Musical sense is late 14c. It's antonym is accord.

5. im-- : variant of in- before -b-, -m-, -p- in the sense of "not, opposite of" (immobile, impersonal) as well as "in, into" (implant, impoverish). In some English words it alternates with em-.

6. para-- : (1) before vowels, par-, word-forming element meaning "alongside, beyond; altered; contrary; irregular, abnormal," from Greek para- from para (prep.) "beside, near, issuing from, against, contrary to," from PIE *prea, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per). Cognate with Old English for- "off, away."

                (2) word-forming element meaning "defense, protection against; that which protects from," from Italian para, imperative of parare "to ward off," from Latin parare "make ready" (see pare).

7. invulnerable : (adj.) 1590s, from Latin invulnerabilis "invulnerable," from in- "not"+ vulnerabilis. Related: Invulnerably.

8. swollen : early 14c., past participle adjective from strong conjugation of swell (v.); from Old English geswollen, past participle of swellan.