any agent, as clothing or bedding, that is capable of absorbing and transmitting the infecting organism of a disease
Word origin
[1650–60; ‹ L fōmes kindling wood, tinder, akin to fōvēre to keep warm]This word is first recorded in the period 1650–60. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cardholder, oscillation, parade, profile, siphon