Con-tā'giōn, n.

(-tā'jun), n. [Lat. contagio, Fr. contagion. See CONTACT.]

1. (Med.) The act or process of transmitting a disease from one person to another, by direct or indirect contact. Dunglison.
2. That which serves as a medium or agency to transmit disease; pestilential influence.

And will he steal out of his wholesome bed To dare the vile contagion of the night? Shak. 3. The act or means of propagating influence or effects;—usually in a bad sense. “The contagion of thought.” Sir J. Stephens. When lust . . . Lets in defilement to the inward parts, The soul grows clotted by contagion. Milton. Syn.—See INFECTION.