CONTAMINATION


Meaning of CONTAMINATION in English

kənˌtaməˈnāshən noun

( -s )

Etymology: Late Latin contamination-, contaminatio, from Latin contaminatus + -ion-, -io -ion

1.

a. : the act or process of contaminating or the state of being contaminated

b. : something that contaminates : impurity

2.

a. : a blending in manuscript tradition whereby a single manuscript contains readings belonging to different groups

b. : a blending of legends or stories resulting in new combinations of incident or in modifications of plot

3.

[German kontamination, from Late Latin contamination-, contaminatio ]

: the blending of two linguistic forms (as words or word groups) into a single new one (as irregardless, prob. from irrespective and regardless, different than, prob. from different from and other than ) — compare blend III d

4. : corruption of relatively inexperienced offenders by hardened criminals within a prison population

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.