infecsion.html - transitive verb (Science and Technology) Of a computer virus or other malicious software: to enter (a computer system, memory, etc.); to contaminate the memory or data of (a computer). Etymology: A transferred sense of infect which extends the metaphor of the computer virus as a contagious 'disease' capable of replicating itself within an organism. History and Usage: The metaphor of infecting a computer system dates from the beginning of the eighties in the US , but became considerably more common in the second half of the decade, after the introduction of computer security hazards such as the virus and the worm. Systems which have had a virus inadvertently loaded into their memory (usually from a floppy disc), or the affected discs themselves, are described as infected; the noun infection exists for the process or result of loading, and also as a synonym for virus. Like a viral infection in living organisms, the computer virus may lie undetected in its host for some time, silently corrupting data in a succession of files before its effects become apparent. Viruses usually infect personal computers, spreading through floppy disks and copied programs. Clifford Stoll The Cuckoo's Egg (1989), p.
315 'It's pretty nasty', said Bill Cheswick, a computer science researcher at Bell Labs, who 'dissected' a version of the virus after obtaining it from the infected disk of a co-worker . Newark Star-Ledger ( New Jersey)
13 Oct 1989, p.
14 The problem is heightened by the emergence of 'infections' which, for the first time, have been tracked to virus writers in the Eastern Bloc. The Times 1 May 1990, p. 3

infecsion.html - v.tr.
1 contaminate (air, water, etc.) with harmful organisms or noxious matter.
2 affect (a person) with disease etc.
3 instil bad feeling or opinion into (a person).

infector n. [ME f. L inficere infect- taint (as IN-(2), facere make)]

infecsion.html - n.
1 a the process of infecting or state of being infected. b an instance of this; an infectious disease.
2 communication of disease, esp. by the agency of air or water etc.
3 a moral contamination. b the diffusive influence of example, sympathy, etc. [ME f. OF infection or LL infectio (as INFECT)]

infecsion.html - adj.
1 infecting with disease.
2 (of a disease) liable to be transmitted by air, water, etc.
3 (of emotions etc.) apt to spread; quickly affecting others.

infectiously adv. infectiousness n.

infecsion.html - adj.
1 capable of infecting with disease.
2 infectious.

infectiveness n. [L infectivus (as INFECT)]

infecsion.html - transitive verb (Science and Technology) Of a computer virus or other malicious software: to enter (a computer system, memory, etc.); to contaminate the memory or data of (a computer). Etymology: A transferred sense of infect which extends the metaphor of the computer virus as a contagious 'disease' capable of replicating itself within an organism. History and Usage: The metaphor of infecting a computer system dates from the beginning of the eighties in the US , but became considerably more common in the second half of the decade, after the introduction of computer security hazards such as the virus and the worm. Systems which have had a virus inadvertently loaded into their memory (usually from a floppy disc), or the affected discs themselves, are described as infected; the noun infection exists for the process or result of loading, and also as a synonym for virus. Like a viral infection in living organisms, the computer virus may lie undetected in its host for some time, silently corrupting data in a succession of files before its effects become apparent. Viruses usually infect personal computers, spreading through floppy disks and copied programs. Clifford Stoll The Cuckoo's Egg (1989), p.
315 'It's pretty nasty', said Bill Cheswick, a computer science researcher at Bell Labs, who 'dissected' a version of the virus after obtaining it from the infected disk of a co-worker . Newark Star-Ledger ( New Jersey)
13 Oct 1989, p.
14 The problem is heightened by the emergence of 'infections' which, for the first time, have been tracked to virus writers in the Eastern Bloc. The Times 1 May 1990, p. 3