epidemiology

noun

ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ˈä-lə-jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
-ˌde-mē-
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen
epidemiological adjective
or less commonly epidemiologic
epidemiologically adverb

Examples of epidemiology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology and cofounder of science and nutrition company ZOE, says that any effects are likely to be subtle and not noticeable for everyone. Victoria Turk, WIRED, 23 Sep. 2024 The practice is not uncommon and was actually recommended for longevity by Dr. Frank B. Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to CNBC Make It earlier this year. Renée Onque, CNBC, 13 Sep. 2024 Another is that the claim itself has fomented a surge of attacks on science and scientists that threatens to drive promising researchers out of the crucial field of pandemic epidemiology. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2024 And having cuts or open wounds on the skin could also increase the risk of any infection from whatever is in the water, says Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of medicine at epidemiology at University of California Los Angeles. Alice Park, TIME, 25 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for epidemiology 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, Spanish, or New Latin; French épidémiologie, borrowed from Spanish epidemiología, borrowed from New Latin epidēmiologia, from Medieval Latin epidēmia "disease affecting a large number of individuals, epidemic" + New Latin -o- -o- + -logia -logy — more at epidemic entry 1

Note: New Latin epidēmiologia was used in the title of a treatise by the Calabrian physician Quinto Tiberio Angelerio (1532-1617), Epidemiologia, sive Tractatus de peste (Madrid, 1598), a second edition of his earlier work Ectypa pestilentis status Algheriae Sardiniae (Cagliari, 1588), detailing methods to cope with a plague outbreak in Alghero, Sardinia, in 1582-83. The Latin word was revived by the Spanish physician Joaquín de Villalba (1752-1807) in his Epidemiología española (Madrid, 1802), a history of epidemics in Spain that was widely disseminated in Europe.

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of epidemiology was in 1850

Dictionary Entries Near epidemiology

Cite this Entry

“Epidemiology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemiology. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

epidemiology

noun
ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy ˌep-ə-ˌdē-mē-ˈäl-ə-jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the occurrence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a particular disease
epidemiological adjective
also epidemiologic

Medical Definition

epidemiology

noun
ep·​i·​de·​mi·​ol·​o·​gy -jē How to pronounce epidemiology (audio)
plural epidemiologies
1
: a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
2
: the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen
epidemiological adjective
also epidemiologic
epidemiologically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on epidemiology

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