catching
noun
Catching — the act of becoming infected with an illness or disease
Definition
Becoming infected; "catching cold is sometimes unavoidable"; "the contracting of a serious illness can be financially catastrophic"
In depth
Catching, in this medical sense, names the act of becoming infected, the process by which a person contracts an illness, typically through exposure to a pathogen carried by another person or the environment. The word's casual, everyday register makes it the natural choice in ordinary speech, distinct from the more clinical 'contracting.'
Origin
The word descends from Old French cachier, to chase or capture, ultimately from Latin captiare, to try to catch. That underlying image of capture, something seizing hold of the body, gives the word for illness a subtly active, almost predatory quality, the disease conceived as something that catches its victim rather than simply being acquired passively.
Usage examples
"Catching cold is sometimes unavoidable, however carefully one tries to avoid it."
"She worried constantly about catching something from her young students during flu season."
"Doctors explained the precise mechanism by which the virus spreads, hoping to reduce the risk of catching it."
How to use it
Catching is plain, accessible vocabulary for everyday speech about illness, well suited to casual and conversational writing, where the more clinical 'contracting' might feel unnecessarily formal.
Related concepts
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