1. Spreading rapidly and extensively by infection and affecting many individuals in an area or a population at the same time: an epidemic outbreak of influenza.2. Widely prevalent: epidemic discontent.
NOUN:
1. An outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely. 2. A rapid spread, growth, or development: an unemployment epidemic.
ETYMOLOGY:
French épidémique, from épidémie, an epidemic, from Old French espydymie, from Medieval Latin epidmia, from Greek epidmi, prevalence of an epidemic disease, from epidmos, prevalent : epi-, epi- + dmos, people; see d- in Appendix I.
p
-d
l)
mia, from Greek epid
, prevalence of an epidemic disease, from epid
