contagion : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: contagion	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for contagion
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
contagion n any disease easily transmitted by contact [syn: {contagious disease}, contagion] an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted Synonym(s): infection, contagion, transmission the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people; "a contagion of mirth"; "the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry" Synonym(s): contagion, infection
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Contagion \Conta"gion\, n. [L. contagio: cf. F. contagion. See {Contact}.] 1. (Med.) The transmission of a disease from one person to another, by direct or indirect contact. Note: The term has been applied by some to the action of miasmata arising from dead animal or vegetable matter, bogs, fens, etc., but in this sense it is now abandoned. --Dunglison. And will he steal out of his wholesome bed To dare the vile contagion* of the night? --Shak. 2. That which serves as a medium or agency to transmit disease; a virus produced by, or exhalation proceeding from, a diseased person, and capable of reproducing the disease. 3. The act or means of communicating any influence to the mind or heart; as, the contagion of enthusiasm. [bd]The contagion of example.[b8] --Eikon Basilike. When lust . . . Lets in defilement to the inward parts, The soul grows clotted by contagion. --Milton. 4. Venom; poison. [Obs.] [bd]I'll touch my point with this contagion.[b8] --Shak. Syn: See {Infection}.