English
contagium
Contagium comes from Latin contagium ‘contagion’, from tango ‘to touch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tangō‘to touch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtango‘to touch’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontingo‘to contact’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontagium‘contagion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1865same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tangō‘to touch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtango‘to touch’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontingo‘to contact’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontagium‘contagion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1865same form
Earliest quotation: 1865, John Simon, Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Cattle Plague Commissio: “And its escape [from certain diseases] is an approximative…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to touch’
taste, integrity, integrate, attain, taxis, taxonomy, tama, talon, tactician, ataxia, contaminate, talus, thwack, 29 more
through Proto-Italic *tangō ‘to touch’
through Latin tango ‘to touch’
tame, tangible, contingent, tactile, tact, tangent, 9 more
through Latin contingo ‘to contact’
Today it means
noun contagion; contagious matter
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- / contagium