/ kənˈteɪdʒən; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] the spreading of a disease by people touching each other :
There is no risk of contagion.
2.
[ C ] ( old use ) a disease that can be spread by people touching each other.
3.
[ C ] ( formal ) something bad that spreads quickly by being passed from person to person
—compare infection
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (denoting a contagious disease): from Latin contagio(n-) , from con- together with + the base of tangere to touch.