1.
[syn: zymosis, zymolysis, fermentation, fermenting, ferment]
2. (medicine) the development and spread of an infectious disease (especially one caused by a fungus);
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Zymosis \Zy*mo"sis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? fermentation, fr. ?
ferment.] (Med.)
(a) A fermentation; hence, an analogous process by which an
infectious disease is believed to be developed.
(b) A zymotic disease. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
zymosis
n 1: a process in which an agent causes an organic substance to
break down into simpler substances; especially, the
anaerobic breakdown of sugar into alcohol [syn: zymosis,
zymolysis, fermentation, fermenting, ferment]
2: (medicine) the development and spread of an infectious
disease (especially one caused by a fungus)