wildfire

From Old English wilde fȳr. Equivalent to wild +‎ fire.

• IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪldˌfaɪɚ/

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wildfire (countable and uncountable, plural wildfires)

1. A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area.

   Synonym: forest fire

   Hyponym: megafire

   Coordinate terms: brushfire, bushfire

2. (historical) Greek fire, Byzantine fire.
3. (dermatology) A spreading disease of the skin, particularly erysipelas.
4. (figuratively) Something that acts or spreads quickly and uncontrollably.
   • 2015 January 18, Monty Munford, “What’s the point of carrying a mobile phone nowadays?”, in The Daily Telegraph‎:

     So, it appears a revolution has happened and a very unexpected one. Of course it was only a matter of time before it happened. With WiFi connectivity spreading faster than wildfire and a laptop or tablet in one’s bag, what’s the point of a mobile nowadays?

   • 2022 December 9, Rachel Felder, “These Timex Dials Were Designed With a Jeweler’s Eye”, in The New York Times‎:

     “It was my own personal watch and I wanted to change the face,” she said in an interview during a recent business trip to New York. “I started wearing it, and it was wildfire — everybody wanted one.”

• conflagration

• wildfire on Wikipedia.Wikipedia