contagium
|con-ta-gi-um|
/kənˈteɪdʒiəm/
something that spreads by contact
Etymology
'contagium' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'contagium', where the root is related to 'contag-/'contact-' meaning 'touching together' or 'contact'.
'contagium' passed from Latin into medieval medical Latin and influenced Old French and Middle English forms such as 'contagion'; the modern English 'contagion' developed from these later forms while 'contagium' remained as a technical/Latin term in scholarly texts.
Initially, it referred in Latin to the action or effect of touching (and thereby transmitting disease); over time it came to denote the infectious agent or the state of being contagious in medical usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
(rare, obsolete) An infectious agent or material believed to transmit disease; a contagion.
Medieval physicians sometimes referred to an unknown contagium as the cause of plague.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
a historical/technical term for a contagious disease or the property of being contagious (used chiefly in older medical literature).
Writings of the 17th century sometimes discuss the spread of contagium among sailors.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/12 06:25