contagionism
|con-ta-gion-ism|
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/kənˈteɪdʒənɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/kənˈteɪdʒənɪz(ə)m/
spread by contact
Etymology
'contagionism' originates from English, specifically the word 'contagion' with the suffix '-ism', where 'contagion' ultimately derives from Latin 'contagionem' and the Latin elements 'con-' meant 'together' and 'tangere' meant 'to touch'.
'contagion' changed from Latin word 'contagionem' to Old French 'contagion' and then to Middle English 'contagion'; the modern form 'contagionism' was formed by adding the suffix '-ism' to express a doctrine or theory.
Initially, it meant 'the act of touching or contact' (in a literal sense), but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'the doctrine that diseases or phenomena spread by contact'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the medical doctrine or theory that infectious diseases are transmitted by direct contact or by transfer of infectious agents (contagion).
In the 19th century, contagionism competed with miasmatism as explanations for cholera outbreaks.
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Noun 2
a figurative doctrine asserting that ideas, behaviors, or social phenomena spread like infectious disease by direct contact or close association.
His contagionism about radical ideas shaped the committee's recommendations on public assemblies.
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Last updated: 2025/10/22 21:37