anticontagionist
|an-ti-con-ta-gion-ist|
/ˌæn.ti.kənˈteɪ.dʒən.ɪst/
against contagion theory
Etymology
'anticontagionist' originates from the combining prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') + the noun 'contagion' (from Latin 'contagio') + the agent suffix '-ist', where 'contagio' meant 'a touching, contact'.
'contagion' changed from Latin word 'contagionem' to Old French 'contagion' and Middle English 'contagioun', eventually becoming modern English 'contagion'. The compound 'anticontagionist' was coined in English in the 19th century to describe opponents of contagion theory.
Initially, it meant 'an opponent of the contagion theory who attributed disease spread to noncontagious causes (e.g., miasma)'; over time, as germ theory and evidence for contagion became accepted, the term fell into historical/specialized usage referring mainly to that 19th-century position.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who denies or opposes the theory that diseases are spread by direct contagion; an adherent of anticontagionism (a historical position that attributed disease spread to noncontagious causes, e.g., miasma).
In historical accounts, the anticontagionist argued that cholera outbreaks were caused by environmental miasmas rather than person-to-person contagion.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/30 01:18