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contagion

Etymology and origin of the English word contagion

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kənˈteɪd͡ʒən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English contagioun, borrowed from Old French contagion,[2][3] and directly from Latin contāgiō (“contact, touching; contagion”),[4][2][3][5][6] from contingere “to touch closely”,[4][2][3][5] from con- “together” and tangere “to touch”.[3][6] It is related to contact and contingent.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A corrupting influence, contamination (about 1380);[2][7][3] a contagious disease (1398).[7][2]

Semantic evolution

In Latin contāgiō was often used in a bad sense, of contact with something physically or morally unclean.[3] The sense “communication of disease by contact” dates from the 16th century (before 1535),[7] and figuratively the catching influence of example or emotion from 1632.[7] The Century Dictionary noted an attempted distinction between contagion, transmission by contact, and infection, transmission through the air, but in common use the words are not precisely distinguished.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – corrupting influence.[2][7]
  • 1398 – a contagious disease.[7][2]
  • before 1535 – transmission of disease by contact.[7]
  • 1603 – the agent that transmits a disease.[7]
  • 1632 – the spreading influence of example or emotion.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The transmission of disease by direct or indirect contact.
  2. A disease spread in this way; a contagious disease.
  3. The agent, such as a virus, that causes and transmits such a disease.
  4. A harmful or corrupting influence.
  5. The rapid spread of an idea, emotion or influence, as in a contagion of fear; also, in economics, the spread of a financial crisis.
  • contagious
  • contact
  • contingent
  • tangible
  • infection

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Contagion.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/contagion. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·