contagion

Definition

A disease spread by contact.

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

• "It is true, they were a good-natured and respectable set of servants, who had lived so long in their places that they might be said, by a happy contagion, to have caught kindly feelings from their superiors, and, having assisted in saving the lives of the young ladies, gave them an interest in their pleasures, and a real delight in seeing those fair young faces lighted up with joy."
• "And it was German procrastination that aggravated the Greek crisis and caused the contagion that turned it into an existential crisis for Europe."

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