Rife; common; prevalent. This word is much used by the uneducated in the interior of New England, when speaking of epidemic diseases. Mr. Halliwell, in his Provincial Dictionary, says, it is used in the same sense in England, and denotes the quickness with which the contagion spreads. Brief is also used when speaking of diseases in Virginia. It is not in any English dictionary except Bailey's, in which it is defined as 'common, rife.'