epidemic
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
epidemic/epɪˈdemɪk/
▶noun a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.
■ a sudden, widespread occurrence of an undesirable phenomenon.
▶adjective of the nature of an epidemic.– origin C17 (as adj.): from Fr. épidémique, from épidémie, via late L. from Gk epidēmia ‘prevalence of disease’.
'epidemic' also found in these Oxford entries:
