# What does the word epicenter mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394 "2019-06-11T21:15:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/1 "2019-06-11T21:15:25Z")
I know the dictionary says: «the point on the earth’s surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake« But there are other usages too. To me it seems that it is sometimes used to replace the word center, but egen exactly is it used. Does it have a specific meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/2 "2019-06-11T21:22:47Z")
I think it’s basically used for a geographical location to show the center (for lack of a better word) from where things spread. Epicenter of an earthquake, epicenter of a disease outbreak etc. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/3 "2019-06-11T21:48:40Z")
Its expanded use as a synonym for _center_ is probably related to the widely held belief that more syllables are better than fewer syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/4 "2019-06-11T21:54:21Z")
Don’t you mean that polysesquipedsyllabic words are better? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/5 "2019-06-11T22:04:50Z")
“Epi” it still a preposition, though, so it cannot be completely synonymous with “center”. People refer to “the centre of the Earth”, not the “epicenter of the Earth”. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/6 "2019-06-11T22:10:07Z")
“Epicenter” is a technical term that people hear in reference to a geographic location related to large and disastrous events - earthquakes. It’s natural that it gets applied in a non-technical sense to refer to geographic locations related to other large and disastrous events like epidemics, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/7 "2019-06-11T22:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > London is home base for some serious designer labels, including Stella McCartney, Burberry, Temperley, Vivienne Westwood, and the late Alexander McQueen, and plays host to London Fashion Week, the fashion **epicenter** for designers, magazines, ​photographers, buyers, and stylists. > **[The 4 Modeling and Fashion Capitals of the World](https://www.liveabout.com/the-big-four-modeling-and-fashion-capitals-of-the-world-2379483)** > > New York, Paris, Milan, and London are musts for fashion, print, and runway models. Learn more here about the big four capitals of the fashion world. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/8 "2019-06-11T22:12:01Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > “Epicenter” is a technical term that people hear in reference to a geographic location related to large and disastrous events - earthquakes. It’s natural that it gets applied in a non-technical sense to refer to geographic locations related to other large and disastrous events like epidemics, etc. > [@Danger\_Man](#): > > [The 4 Modeling and Fashion Capitals of the World](https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-big-four-modeling-and-fashion-capitals-of-the-world-2379483) Have you seen those clothes. What a disaster! ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/9 "2019-06-11T22:59:34Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > “Epi” it still a preposition, though, so it cannot be completely synonymous with “center”. People refer to “the centre of the Earth”, not the “epicenter of the Earth”. “In” is a preposition, and “flammable” and “inflammable” mean the same thing. Not sure you meant preposition rather than prefix, so I’ll add “ravel” and “Unravel” mean the same thing. As do “loose” and “unloose” and “thaw” and “unthaw”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/10 "2019-06-11T23:09:14Z")
You’re right; we should say it is a prefix derived from a preposition. Not eo ipso, but nevertheless, “epicenter” is not just another word for “center”. I agree with **Andy L** ’s analysis. ETA nor does “demic” equal “epidemic”… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/11 "2019-06-11T23:24:11Z")
> [@every source in the world](#): > > epi- WORD ORIGIN. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “upon,” “on,” “over,” “near,” “at,” “before,” “after”. The center of the earthquake is usually deep in the earth. The general population generally doesn’t travel miles below the earth, we’re much more interested in where the effects peaked on the surface of the earth. In other words, the epicenter - “above center”. AKA “surface zero”. Compare with nuclear weapons, which we normally expect to burst in the air. The physical aerial center of such a burst is meaningless to humans, but we are very concerned about the area directly below the event - the hypocenter, or “below center”. AKA “ground zero”. So that’s what ‘epicenter’ and ‘hypocenter’ are all about. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/12 "2019-06-12T00:26:16Z")
As an aside for nuclear weapons, “ground zero” is not necessarily very close to the blast, if the blast was at very high altitudes. There have been tests where scientists were standing right at ground zero to make measurements. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/13 "2019-06-12T01:12:56Z")
I think “epi” something means “on top of” something. An epicenter for an earthquake is the point on the surface of the earth that is on top of the location the earthquake happens down inside the earth. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/14 "2019-06-12T01:21:56Z")
What others have said. Technicall, the epicentre is the point on a plane nearest to a given point that is off the plain. The word (in this sense) dates only from about 1880. But it pretty soon developed a looser, secondary sense: a centre of activity, energy, or disturbance. This is recorded as early as 1908. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/15 "2019-06-12T10:11:54Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > “In” is a preposition, and “flammable” and “inflammable” mean the same thing. > > Not sure you meant preposition rather than prefix, so I’ll add “ravel” and “Unravel” mean the same thing. As do “loose” and “unloose” and “thaw” and “unthaw”. Flammable was a word invented to resolve the confusion by those who misunderstood the word to mean its opposite. Non-inflammable is also rather clumsy for such an important distinction, so “flammable” and “non-flammable” were coined. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/16 "2019-06-12T12:11:00Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I think “epi” something means “on top of” something. An epicenter for an earthquake is the point on the surface of the earth that is on top of the location the earthquake happens down inside the earth. We need not “think” about these things. There is an actual formal meaning for “epi-”, and [it’s this:](https://www.google.com/search?q=definition%20epi&cad=h) > [@](#): > > 1. > > upon. > “epigraph” > > 1. > > above. > “epicontinental” Epidermis is the outermost layer of skin. Epitaxial growth is the deposition of new crystalline material on an existing layer. [Epistaxis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosebleed#Etymology) is a nosebleed (meaning basically “to drip from above”). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/17 "2019-06-12T14:03:08Z")
Since the word was coined by seismologists, the “vertical point on surface above the actual earthquake focus” is the proper meaning. Using “epicentre” when you mean “centre” is just dumb. The same flavour of dumb that says “utilize” when “use” is right there. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/18 "2019-06-12T14:14:00Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > We need not “think” about these things. There is an actual formal meaning for “epi-”, and [it’s this:](https://www.google.com/search?q=definition%20epi&cad=h) Only two? The old Greek-English dictionary gives [well over a dozen](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=e)pi/2) meanings. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/19 "2019-06-12T14:48:03Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Using “epicentre” when you mean “centre” is just dumb. The same flavour of dumb that says “utilize” when “use” is right there. Not always. Some people metaphorically use ‘seismic’ to mean ‘major’ or ‘significant’ for things that aren’t literally earthquakes. Substituting ‘epicenter’ for ‘center’ can be a similar thing. But to be clear, ‘epicenter’ only has one literal meaning, and it’s the point on the earth’s surface above the center of some subsurface event, which is always (I think always) an earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394/20 "2019-06-12T15:05:14Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Using “epicentre” when you mean “centre” is just dumb. The same flavour of dumb that says “utilize” when “use” is right there. Because it is used to describe earthquakes, “epicenter” to me has a connotation of something dynamic happening, with its effects emanating outwards from that point and affecting surrounding areas. “Center” is just an indicator of a central point, which could be inactive, inert or static. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-epicenter-mean/835394.md?page=2)