epiphytotic

[ep-uh-fahy-tot-ik]

adjective

(of a disease) destroying a large number of plants in an area at the same time.

noun

the widespread, destructive outbreak of a plant disease.

Origin of epiphytotic

First recorded in 1895–1900; epi- + -phyte + -otic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for epiphytotic

epiphytotic

adjective

(of plant diseases and parasites) affecting plants over a wide geographical region

Word Origin for epiphytotic

from epi- + -phyte + -otic

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

epiphytotic in Science

epiphytotic

[ĕp′ə-fī-tŏt′ĭk]

Relating to or characterized by a sudden or abnormally destructive outbreak of a plant disease, usually over an extended geographic area.