contamination
noun
- presence of an unwanted constituent, harmful substance or impurity in a material, physical body, or environment
- befoul
- word or phrase formed from parts of two or more other words that have similar meaning
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kənˌtæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ / /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/ / [kənˌtɛəm.əˈneɪ.ʃən]
noun
Etymology: From Latin contāminātiōnem.
- The act or process of contaminating.
- Something which contaminates.
- A process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds.
- The influence of one form (often from a foreign language) on the historical development of another form to which it may be related in meaning.
- The intermingling of readings from multiple sources by a copyist.