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communicable

[kuh-myoo-ni-kuh-buh l]
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adjective
  1. capable of being easily communicated or transmitted: communicable information; a communicable disease.
  2. talkative; communicative.
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Origin of communicable

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin commūnicābilis, equivalent to commūnicā(re) (see communicate) + -bilis -ble
Related formscom·mu·ni·ca·bil·i·ty, com·mu·ni·ca·ble·ness, nouncom·mu·ni·ca·bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

diseaseepidemicvirusbugpollutionfluimpuritycontagionpoisoncorruptiondefilementgermscommunicabilitycontagiousnessinsanitationsepticity

Examples from the Web for communicability

Historical Examples

  • The presence of false membranes in one form of mammitis in cows does not necessarily imply its communicability to man.

    Special Report on Diseases of Cattle

    U.S. Department of Agriculture

British Dictionary definitions for communicability

communicable

adjective
  1. capable of being communicated
  2. (of a disease or its causative agent) capable of being passed on readily
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Derived Formscommunicability or communicableness, nouncommunicably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for communicability

communicable

adj.

late 14c., from Old French communicable, from Late Latin communicabilis, from communicare (see communication).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
communicability in Medicine

communicable

(kə-myōō′nĭ-kə-bəl)
adj.
  1. Transmittable between persons or species; contagious.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
communicability in Science

communicable

[kə-myōō′nĭ-kə-bəl]
  1. Capable of being transmitted from a person or animal to another person or animal, either through direct or indirect transmission, including insect or other vectors. Chickenpox is a communicable disease.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.