Other forms: infections
An infection is an illness caused by tiny invaders getting into your body. A chest infection, prevent infection, the infection spread.
It is caused by something living — bacteria, viruses, fungi — which is why antibiotics work on some and do nothing at all against others. Handwashing remains the single most effective measure against spreading one. Note that the Latin means to dip in or stain, from the idea of tainting.
1nouninfectionAn illness caused by organisms entering the body.
“The cut got dirty and turned into a nasty infection.”
infection is an illness.
Latin infectio comes from inficere, to dip in or taint — in plus facere, to do. Infect and disinfect come from the same tainting.
Proto-Indo-European
*dʰeh₁-
Latin
īnfectiō
Old French
infection
English, today
infection
From Old French infection, from Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + ion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA