The term "epidemic" is used to describe the spread of a disease or condition to a large number of people. The word "epidemic" is derived from the Greek word "epi", meaning "upon", and "demos", meaning "people". Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived in the fourth century BC, was one of the first to use the term "epidemic". He used it to describe the spread of disease through a population. Read in English, unabridged.