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epizootic

[ep-uh-zoh-ot-ik]Veterinary Medicine
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adjective
  1. (of diseases) spreading quickly among animals.
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noun
  1. an epizootic disease.
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Origin of epizootic

First recorded in 1740–50; epi- + zo(o)- + -otic
Related formsep·i·zo·ot·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

deadlyinfectiousendemicpoisonoustakingpandemicepidemiccommunicabledangerouspestiferoustransferablepestilentialepizooticinfectivemiasmatictransmittablecatchingimpartibleinoculabletransmissible

Examples from the Web for epizootic

Historical Examples

  • If you ask me, said Agnes, with conviction, I think the old thing has the epizootic.

    The Corner House Girls on a Tour

    Grace Brooks Hill

  • "No matter if I do catch the epizootic; guess I'll get over it," said the boy.

  • I think I have the epizootic, and I don't want any breakfast.

  • In the 18th and 19th centuries it sometimes spread like an epizootic over the whole of Europe, from Siberia to France.

  • They traveled over hills and down dales, and once they met a lame rabbit, who had the epizootic very bad.

British Dictionary definitions for epizootic

epizootic

adjective
  1. (of a disease) suddenly and temporarily affecting a large number of animals over a large area
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noun
  1. an epizootic diseaseCompare enzootic
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Derived Formsepizootically, 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 epizootic

n.

animal equivalent of epidemic, 1748, from French épizootique, from épizootie, irregularly formed from Greek epi (see epi-) + zoon (see zoo).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
epizootic in Medicine

epizootic

(ĕp′ĭ-zō-ŏt′ĭk)
adj.
  1. Affecting a large number of animals at the same time within a particular region or geographic area. Used of a disease.
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Related formsep′i•zo•ot′ic n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
epizootic in Science

epizootic

[ĕp′ĭ-zō-ŏt′ĭk]
Adjective
  1. Relating to a rapidly spreading disease that affects a large number of animals at the same time within a particular area.
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Noun
  1. An epizootic disease.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.