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