English Explanatory Dictionary

contagion

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A disease spread by contact.
  2. The spread or transmission of such a disease.
  3. The spread of anything likened to a contagious disease.
  4. The passing on of manners or behaviour through a closed community or household.
  5. The spread of (initially small) shocks, which initially affect only a few financial institutions or a particular region of an economy, to other financial sectors and other countries whose economies were previously healthy.
  6. A recession or crisis developed in such manner.

Pronunciation

/kənˈteɪd͡ʒən/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-contagion.wav

Word forms

contagion contagions

Etymology

From Middle English (late 14th century), from Old French, from Latin contāgiō (“a touching, contact, contagion”) related to contingō (“touch closely”).

Synonyms

infection

Related words

contagious quarantine

Derived words

anticontagion Asian contagion behavioral contagion behavioural contagion contagiogram contagioned contagionism contagionist noncontagion social contagion

Translations

Finnish: leviäminen
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary