Nomē (νομή) has two related meanings: (1) pasture, feeding ground — where flocks graze; and (2) spreading, increase — the advance of something like disease or error. Both senses appear in the NT.
In John 10:9, Jesus promises those who enter through Him 'will come in and go out, and find pasture' — safe, abundant provision from the Good Shepherd. But in 2 Timothy 2:17, Paul warns that false teaching 'will spread like gangrene' — the same word now depicting something destructive. The contrast is instructive: truth nourishes and gives life; false doctrine spreads death. The shepherd image demands that elders protect the flock from teachings that eat away rather than feed.