infection
/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/ noun
Forms infections
- noun (pathology) The act or process of infecting.
- noun An uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host.
- noun A disease caused by such presence of a pathogen.
- noun A visible sign of such a disease, such as the suppuration of a wound.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Old French infection, from Late Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + -ion.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act or process of infecting.
- noun That which infects, or causes the communicated disease; any effluvium, miasm, or pestilential matter by which an infectious disease is caused.
Etymology [Cf. F. infection, L. infectio a dyeing.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “infection”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details