EPICENTRE

epicenter, epicentre

(noun) the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

epicentre (plural epicentres)

(seismology) The point on the land or water surface directly above the focus, or hypocentre, of an earthquake.

(military) The point on the surface of the earth directly above an underground explosion.

(figuratively, proscribed) The focal point of any activity, especially if dangerous or destructive.

(figuratively, proscribed) The geographical area in which an ongoing disaster, illness, crisis, or other destructive event is currently most severe.

Usage notes

The loose usage “center”, or specifically “center of a disaster”, is criticized by some as pretentious and incorrect, since epi- specifically means “over, on top”, and is not a generic intensifier.

A more semantic objection is that epicenter implies a singular center of a disaster, which is misleading for many disasters, such as diseases, which do not spread simply by radiation. Instead, hot spot is preferred by some as less misleading.

Nevertheless, epicenter is widely used for diseases and other disasters, both in media and epidemiology.

Synonyms

• (center of a disaster): ground zero

Antonyms

• hypocentre

Verb

epicentre (third-person singular simple present epicentres, present participle epicentring, simple past and past participle epicentred)

Of an earthquake: to have its epicentre (at a specified location).