epidemic

epidemic

English

Alternative forms

• epidemick (obsolete)
• epidemical (adjective) (obsolete)

Etymology

From French épidémique, from épidémie, from Medieval Latin epidēmia, reanalysis of plural Late Latin epidēmia, from Ancient Greek ἐπιδήμιος (epidḗmios), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”). Surface analysis epi- (“on”) +‎ demic (“of the people”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ep‧i‧dem‧ic

Noun

epidemic (plural epidemics)

1. A widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population.
2. (epidemiology) An occurrence of a disease or disorder in a population at a frequency higher than that expected in a given time period; an episode of outbreak and subsequent high prevalence.
3. (figurative) The spreading of an idea or belief amongst a population.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, pages 98–99:

     Lord Avonleigh was at once liberated from his imprisonment, well prepared to be considered, and to consider himself, a martyr to the cause of loyalty; and as the services of the rich nobleman,...his claims to notice and favour were most graciously acknowledged. Accordingly, he returned to his seat in a little fever of royal devotedness—it was the fashionable epidemic; and who coming from Whitehall could be without it?

Antonyms

• endemic

Derived terms

• antiepidemic
• epidemiclike
• hyperepidemic
• iatroepidemic
• infodemic
• interepidemic
• microepidemic
• panepidemic
• preepidemic
• pseudoepidemic
• subepidemic
• syndemic

 

Compound words and expressions

• greenfield epidemic
• virgin fields epidemic

 

Related terms

• ecdemic
• endemic
• pandemic
• tridemic
• tripledemic
• twindemic

 

Translations

widespread disease

Afrikaans: epidemie (af) Albanian: epidemi (sq) f Arabic: وَبَاء‎ (ar) m (wabāʾ), أَوْبِئَة‎ m pl (ʾawbiʾa) Armenian: համաճարակ (hy) (hamačarak) Azerbaijani: epidemiya Belarusian: эпідэ́мія f (epidémija), по́шасць f (póšascʹ) Bengali: মহামারী (môhamarī) Bulgarian: епиде́мия (bg) f (epidémija) Burmese: ကပ်နာ (my) (kapna) Catalan: epidèmia (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 流行病 (zh) (liúxíngbìng), 瘟疫 (zh) (wēnyì) Czech: epidemie (cs) f Danish: epidemi (da) c Dutch: epidemie (nl) Estonian: epideemia (et), taud (et) Finnish: kulkutauti (fi), epidemia (fi) French: épidémie (fr) Friulian: epidemie f Galician: andazo (gl) m, epidemia (gl) f Georgian: ეპიდემია (eṗidemia) German: Epidemie (de) f, Seuche (de) f Greek: επιδημία (el) f (epidimía) Ancient: ἐπιδήμιος (epidḗmios) Hebrew: מַגֵּפָה‎ (he) f (magefá) Hindi: महामारी (hi) f (mahāmārī), वबा (hi) (vabā) Hungarian: népbetegség (hu), járvány (hu) Icelandic: faraldur (is) m, farsótt (is) f Indonesian: wabah (id), epidemi (id) Irish: eipidéim f Japanese: 疫 (ja) (eyami), 疫病 (ja) (ekibyō), 流行病 (ja) (ryūkōbyō), 伝染病 (ja) (densenbyō) Kazakh: эпидемия (epidemiä), індет (ındet) Khmer: ជម្ងឺរាល (cumngɨɨ riəl) Korean: 유행병 (ko) (yuhaengbyeong), 류행병 (ko) (ryuhaengbyeong) (North Korea) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: ئاھۆ‎ (ku) (aho), پەتا‎ (ku) (peta) Kyrgyz: эпидемия (ky) (epidemiya) Lao: ໂລກລະບາດ (lōk la bāt), ພະຍຸ (pha nyu) Latin: luēs f Latvian: epidēmija f Lithuanian: epidemija f Macedonian: епидемија f (epidemija) Malay: wabak (ms), epidemi Malayalam: മഹാമാരി (ml) (mahāmāri) Maori: urutā, mate urutā Middle Korean: 시긧벼ᇰ〯 (sìkùy-s pyěng) Mongolian: тахал (mn) (taxal) Moroccan Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵟⴰⵏ m (aṭṭan) Navajo: naałniih Norwegian: Bokmål: farsott (no) m or f, epidemi (no) m Nynorsk: epidemi m Persian: همه‌گیر‎ (hame-gir), مرگامرگی‎ (margâmargi), اپیدمی‎ (fa) (epidemi), وبا‎ (fa) (vabâ) Polish: epidemia (pl) f Portuguese: epidemia (pt) f Punjabi: ਵਬਾਅ (vabāa) Romanian: epidemie (ro) f Russian: эпиде́мия (ru) f (epidémija) Rusyn: епіде́мія f (epidémija) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̏ша̄ст f, епидѐмија f, редња f Roman: pȍšāst f, epidèmija (sh) f, rednja (sh) f Slovak: epidémia (sk) f Slovene: epidemija (sl) f Sotho: sewa Spanish: epidemia (es) f Swahili: epidemiki Swedish: epidemi (sv) c, farsot (sv) c Tagalog: salot (tl), epidemya Tajik: эпидемия (epidemiya), вабо (vabo) Tatar: эпидемия (epidemiya) Thai: โรคระบาด (th) (rôok-rá-bàat) Turkish: salgın (tr) Turkmen: epidemiýa Ukrainian: епіде́мія f (epidémija), по́шесть f (póšestʹ) Urdu: وبا‎ (vabā) Uzbek: epidemiya (uz) Vietnamese: bệnh dịch Walloon: minêye (wa) f, piyintche (wa) f Welsh: epidemig m Westrobothnian: gangsjuk f, gangfermels f Yiddish: עפּידעמיע‎ f (epidemye)

occurrence of such disease

Arabic: وَبَاء‎ (ar) m (wabāʾ) Catalan: epidèmia (ca) f Czech: epidemie (cs) f Dutch: epidemie (nl) Finnish: epidemia (fi) French: épidémie (fr) Galician: epidemia (gl) f Greek: επιδημία (el) f (epidimía) Hungarian: járvány (hu), epidémia Irish: eipidéim f Japanese: エピデミック (epidemikku) Latin: luēs f Norwegian: Bokmål: epidemi (no) m, farsott (no) m or f Nynorsk: epidemi m Polish: epidemia (pl) f Portuguese: epidemia (pt) f Russian: эпиде́мия (ru) f (epidémija) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: епидѐмија f Roman: epidèmija (sh) f Slovak: epidémia (sk) Spanish: epidemia (es) f Swedish: epidemi (sv) c Vietnamese: dịch (vi) Welsh: epidemig m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: (please verify) epidemio Italian: (please verify) epidemia (it) f, (please verify) contagio (it) m

Adjective

epidemic (comparative more epidemic, superlative most epidemic)

1. Like or having to do with an epidemic; widespread.

   Synonyms: common, ubiquitous; see also Thesaurus:widespread

   Antonym: endemic

   Epidemic hysteria occurred upon the incumbent’s reelection.

   • 1852, Annals of influenza or epidemic catarrhal fever in Great Britain, page 76:

     [In] May, there was, at London and in its neighbourhood, a disease very epidemic, though not fatal, which had some time before been very prevalent both in Italy and Germany.

   • 1986, Pyle, Gerald F., The Diffusion of Influenza: Patterns and Paradigms, →ISBN, page 123:

     The major reason for such an examination was to determine if any patterns uncovered seemed to be more epidemic than endemic.

   • 2003, Howell, James C., Preventing & Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 19:

     This proportion increased about 5% from 1988 to 1992—hardly a change of epidemic proportions.

   • 2013, Allen, Frederick, A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, page 8:

     This was the stagecoach holdup, and while these encounters were not as epidemic as we like to remember, nonetheless there were numerous bands of "road agents" who lay by the roadside in wait for passengers.

Derived terms

• ecoepidemic
• endemoepidemic
• epidemically
• epidemicity
• hyperepidemic
• nonepidemic

 

Compound words and expressions

• epidemic nephropathy
• epidemic polyarthritis
• epidemic roseola
• epidemic threshold

 

Related terms

• ecdemic
• endemic
• epidemiology
• pandemic

 

Translations

like an epidemic

Belarusian: эпідэмі́чны (epidemíčny) Catalan: epidèmic Chinese: Mandarin: (please verify) 流行性 (zh) (liúxíngxìng) Czech: epidemický Dutch: epidemisch (nl) Esperanto: epidemia (eo) Finnish: epideeminen (fi), kulkutaudinomainen French: épidémique (fr) German: epidemisch (de) Greek: επιδημικός (el) m (epidimikós) Hungarian: járványos (hu), járványszerű, epidémiás, epidemikus / epidémikus Irish: eipidéimeach Italian: epidemico (it) Japanese: 流行性 (ryūkōsei) Norwegian: Bokmål: epidemisk Nynorsk: epidemisk Polish: epidemiczny (pl) Portuguese: epidêmico Romanian: epidemic (ro) m Russian: эпидеми́ческий (ru) (epidemíčeskij) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: епидѐмӣјскӣ Roman: epidèmījskī (sh) Slovak: epidemický (sk) Spanish: epidémico (es) Ukrainian: епідемі́чний (epidemíčnyj) Vietnamese: (thuộc) dịch (vi) Yiddish: עפּידעמיש‎ (epidemish)

See also

• enzootic
• epizootic

 

Anagrams

• midpiece

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Romanian

Etymology

From French épidémique.

Adjective

epidemic m or n (feminine singular epidemică, masculine plural epidemici, feminine and neuter plural epidemice)

1. epidemic

Declension

Declension of epidemic

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	epidemic		epidemică	epidemici	epidemice
	definite	epidemicul		epidemica	epidemicii	epidemicele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	epidemic		epidemice	epidemici	epidemice
	definite	epidemicului		epidemicei	epidemicilor	epidemicelor