contagium

[ kuhn-tey-juhm, -jee-uhm ]

noun,plural con·ta·gia

[kuhn-tey-juh, -jee-uh]. /kənˈteɪ dʒə, -dʒi ə/. Pathology.

the causative agent of a contagious or infectious disease, as a virus.

Origin of contagium

1645–55; <Latin, equivalent to contāg- (see contagion) + -ium-ium

Words Nearby contagium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contagium in a sentence

Thus the theory of contagium vivum, for which Henle contended as early as 1821, was not forgotten.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine | Roswell Park
Hoare states that in this type of specific arthritis the contagium is probably carried by the blood.
Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
Richardson believes that the contagium was attached to the thatch, which could not be thoroughly disinfected.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I | Various
A freezing temperature ordinarily destroys the contagium of yellow fever.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I | Various
He also made some remarkable experiments on the permanence of the contagium in the form of spores.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2 | John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for contagium

contagium

/ (kənˈteɪdʒɪəm) /

nounplural -gia (-dʒɪə)

pathol the specific virus or other direct cause of any infectious disease

Origin of contagium

C17: from Latin, variant of contāgiō contagion

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

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