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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The cost can be a major barrier, especially for people without insurance, said Silvia Martins, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025 According to a 2023 review of stroke epidemiology published in the Journal of Stroke, the risk is higher with pills containing more estrogen and is further increased for women who smoke, have high blood pressure, or migraines. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 The lab that demonstrated bedbugs’ potential as vectors of Chagas disease got the idea from a paragraph-long description of a study from 1912, says Michael Levy, an epidemiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who led the 2014 study. Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024 Its work runs the gamut, from data gathering to epidemiology studies to publication of health statistics. Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 3 Dec. 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 29 Jan. 2025.

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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