different between contagion vs plague

English

Etymology

From Middle English (late 14th century), from Old French, from Latin cont?gi? (“a touching, contact, contagion”) related to conting? (“touch closely”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?te?d??n/
• Rhymes: -e?d??n

Noun

contagion (countable and uncountable, plural contagions)

1. A disease spread by contact.
2. The spread or transmission of such a disease.

   Synonym: infection

3. (figuratively, by extension) The spread of anything likened to a contagious disease.
   1. (finance) The spread of (initially small) shocks, which initially affect only a few financial institutions or a particular region of an economy, to other financial sectors and other countries whose economies were previously healthy.
      • 2011, George Soros, Project Syndicate, Germany Must Defend the Euro:

        And it was German procrastination that aggravated the Greek crisis and caused the contagion that turned it into an existential crisis for Europe.

4. (finance) A recession or crisis developed in such manner.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• quarantine
• Contagious disease on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• cognation

French

Etymology

From Latin cont?gi?.

Noun

contagion f (plural contagions)

1. contagion

Related terms

• contagieux

Further reading

• “contagion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Middle English plage, borrowed from Old French plage, from Latin pl?ga (“blow, wound”), from plang? (“to strike”). Cognate with Middle Dutch pl?ghe (> Dutch plaag), pl?ghen (> Dutch plagen); Middle Low German pl?ge; Middle High German pl?ge, pfl?ge (> German Plage); pl?gen (> German plagen); Swedish plåga; French plaie, Occitan plaga. Doublet of plaga. Displaced native Old English w?l.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pl?g, IPA^(key): /ple??/, [p?l?e??]
• Rhymes: -e??

Noun

plague (countable and uncountable, plural plagues)

1. (often used with the, sometimes capitalized: the Plague) The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.
2. (pathology) An epidemic or pandemic caused by any pestilence, but specifically by the above disease.
3. A widespread affliction, calamity or destructive influx, especially when seen as divine retribution.
4. (figuratively) A grave nuisance, whatever greatly irritates.

5. Collective noun for common grackles

Synonyms

• pest, pestilence

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

plague (third-person singular simple present plagues, present participle plaguing, simple past and past participle plagued)

1. (transitive) To harass, pester or annoy someone persistently or incessantly.
2. (transitive) To afflict with a disease or other calamity.

Derived terms

• plagued
• plaguer

Translations

Spanish

Verb

plague

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of plagar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of plagar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of plagar.