contagion 的詞源

14世紀晚期，“一種傳染病； 一種有害或腐敗的影響”，源自古法語 contagion，直接源自拉丁語 contagionem（主格 contagio）“接觸”，常常帶有不良含義，“與身體或道德上不潔淨的東西接觸，傳染病”，源自 contingere “接觸”，來自 com “與，一起”（見 con-) + tangere “觸摸”，源自 PIE 詞根 *tag- “觸摸，處理”。意思是“傳染性接觸或交流”始於1620年代。

A distinction between contagion and infection is sometimes adopted, the former being limited to the transmission of disease by actual contact of the diseased part with a healthy absorbent or abraded surface, and the latter to transmission through the atmosphere by floating germs or miasmata. There are, however, cases of transmission which do not fall under either of these divisions, and there are some which fall under both. In common use no precise discrimination of the two words is attempted. [Century Dictionary, 1897]

有時採用 contagion 和 infection 之間的區別，前者僅限於通過患病部位與健康吸收或磨損表面的實際接觸傳播疾病，後者則通過漂浮的細菌或瘴氣在大氣中傳播。然而，有些傳播情況不屬於這兩個部分，有些情況則屬於兩者。在常用中，不嘗試精確區分這兩個詞。[世紀詞典，1897]