epidemic

epidemic
—epidemically, adv. —epidemicity /ep'i deuh mis"i tee/, n.
/ep'i dem"ik/, adj.
1. Also, epidemical. (of a disease) affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent.
2. extremely prevalent; widespread.
n.
3. a temporary prevalence of a disease.
4. a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something: an epidemic of riots.
[1595-1605; obs. epidem(y) ( < LL epidemia < Gk epidemía staying in one place, among the people, equiv. to epi- EPI- + dêm(os) people of a district + -ia -Y3) + -IC]

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(as used in expressions)
epidemic parotitis
Spanish influenza epidemic

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 an occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence. An epidemic occurring over a wide geographical area (e.g., worldwide) is called a pandemic. The rise and decline in epidemic prevalence of an infectious disease is a probability phenomenon dependent upon transfer of an effective dose of the infectious agent from an infected individual to a susceptible one. After an epidemic has subsided, the affected host population contains a sufficiently small proportion of susceptible individuals that reintroduction of the infection will not result in a new epidemic. Since the parasite population cannot reproduce itself in such a host population, the host population as a whole is immune to the epidemic disease, a phenomenon termed herd immunity.

      Following an epidemic, however, the host population tends to revert to a condition of susceptibility because of: (1) the deterioration of individual immunity; (2) the removal of immune individuals by death; and (3) the influx of susceptible individuals by birth. Over time the population as a whole again becomes susceptible. The time elapsing between successive epidemic peaks is variable and differs from one disease to another.

      By the late 20th century the definition of epidemic had been extended to include outbreaks of any chronic disease or condition (e.g., heart disease or obesity).

      The term epidemic is sometimes reserved for disease among human beings; an outbreak of disease among animals other than man is termed epizootic.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Epidemic — Ep i*dem ic, Epidemical Ep i*dem ic*al, a. [L. epidemus, Gr. ?, ?, among the people, epidemic; ? in + ? people: cf. F. [ e]pid[ e]mique. Cf. {Demagogue}.] 1. (Med.) Common to, or affecting at the same time, a large number in a community; applied… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Epidemic — est un film danois réalisé par Lars von Trier, sorti en 1987. C est le deuxième volet de sa trilogie Europe (les 2 autres volets étant: Element of Crime et Europa). Sommaire 1 Synopsis 2 Fiche technique 3 Distribution …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Epidemic — Ep i*dem ic, n. [Cf. {Epidemy}.] 1. (Med.) An epidemic disease. [1913 Webster] 2. Anything which takes possession of the minds of people as an epidemic does of their bodies; as, an epidemic of terror. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • epidemic — EPIDÉMIC, Ă, epidemici, ce adj. (Despre unele boli) Cu caracter de epidemie; contagios, molipsitor. – Din fr. épidémique. Trimis de viomih, 10.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  epidémic adj. m., pl. epidémici; f. sg. epidémică …   Dicționar Român

  • epidemic — (adj.) c.1600, from Fr. épidémique, from épidemié an epidemic disease, from M.L. epidemia, from Gk. epidemia prevalence of an epidemic disease (especially the plague), from epi among, upon (see EPI (Cf. epi )) + demos people, district (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • epidemic — [adj] widespread catching, communicable, contagious, endemic, general, infectious, pandemic, prevailing, prevalent, rampant, rife, sweeping, wide ranging; concepts 314,537 Ant. limited epidemic [n] widespread disease contagion, endemic, growth,… …   New thesaurus

  • epidemic — ► NOUN 1) a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time. 2) a sudden, widespread occurrence of something undesirable. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ relating to or of the nature of an epidemic. ORIGIN Greek epid mia, from… …   English terms dictionary

  • epidemic — [ep΄ə dem′ik] adj. [Fr épidémique < MFr < ML epidemicus < epidemia < Gr epidēmia < epidēmios, among the people, general < epi , EPI + dēmos, people: see DEMOCRACY] prevalent and spreading rapidly among many individuals in a… …   English World dictionary

  • epidemic — index contagious, disease, far reaching, general, pestilent, predominant, prevailing (current), preva …   Law dictionary

  • Epidemic —    Drame de Lars von Trier, avec Lars von Trier, Niels Vörsel, Udo Kier.   Pays: Danemark   Date de sortie: 1987   Technique: noir et blanc   Durée: 1 h 46    Résumé    En écrivant un scénario relatant les aventures d un médecin lors de la grande …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • Epidemic — For other uses, see Epidemic (disambiguation). In epidemiology, an epidemic (επι (epi) meaning upon or above and δεμος (demos) meaning people ), occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period,… …   Wikipedia

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