epizootic

noun

epi·​zo·​ot·​ic ˌe-pə-zə-ˈwä-tik 

-zō-ˈä-

: an outbreak of disease affecting many animals of one kind at the same time

also : the disease itself

epizootic adjective

Examples of epizootic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With Covid keeping us at home, many ecologists are unaware of potentially the most important non-human epizootic occurring since white-nose. —Sophie Lewis, CBS News, 19 May 2020

African swine fever decimated the country’s pig population in 2019 in what lovers of Greek etymology would have insisted was an epizootic—relating to animals—and not an epidemic—relating to people. —Jacky Wong, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2020

Unfortunately an epizootic of African swine fever has recently wiped out at least a third of all the pigs in China. —The Economist, 10 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French épizootique "pertaining to a disease affecting many animals at once," coinage modeled on épidemique epidemic entry 1, from Greek epi- epi- + zôion "animal" + French -otique -otic entry 1 — more at zoo-

Note: The Oxford English Dictionary and Trésor de la Langue Française both treat épizootique as a derivative of épizootie, but the noun is attested later and is more likely a back-formation from the adjective, on the model of épidémique : épidémie.

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

epizootic

noun

epi·​zo·​ot·​ic ˌep-ə-zə-ˈwät-ik 

: an outbreak of disease affecting many animals of one kind at the same time

also : the disease itself

epizootic adjective

epizootically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb