Communicability

/kəˌmjuːnɪkəˈbɪləti/ noun

Definition

The quality of being able to be communicated or transmitted, especially of ideas or diseases.

Etymology

From 'communicable' (Latin communicabilis) plus the abstract noun suffix -ity. The medical sense (disease communicability) became common in epidemiology.

Kelly Says

During COVID-19, 'communicability' became a crucial concept—scientists measured the R-value (how many people one infected person communicates the disease to) because higher communicability means exponential spread.

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