Fomite

WORD OF THE DAY

fomite / noun / FOH-myte

Definition
1: an object (such as a dish, doorknob, or article of clothing) that may be contaminated with infectious agents (such as bacteria or viruses) and serve in their transmission

Examples
"Sneezing and coughing can spread germs onto surfaces either through the droplets released from the sneeze or cough itself or through germs from the sneeze or cough getting onto the hands, which then come into contact with fomites."
 — Lois Zoppi, News Medical, 18 Feb. 2021

It is spread primarily from symptomatic people to others who are in close contact through respiratory droplets, by direct contact with infected persons, or by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces (fomites).
— Dr. Tom Frieden And Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, CNN, 9 Apr. 2020

Did You Know
"Disinfectant on your hands keeps us healthier and fomites no longer foment as much disease." Australian newspaper contributor Peter Goers was likely going for alliteration when he paired up fomite and foment, a verb meaning "to promote the growth or development of"—but, whether he realized it or not, the words fomite and foment are related.
Fomite is a back-formation of fomites, the Latin plural of fomes, itself a word for "tinder." (Much like tinder is a catalyst of fire, a fomite can kindle disease.) 
Fomes is related to the Latin verb fovēre ("to heat"), an ancestor of foment.