symptom
Definitions
General English
- noun a change in the body, showing that a disease is present
- noun a visible sign which shows that something is happening
Agriculture
- noun a change in the functioning or appearance of an organism, which shows that a disease or disorder is present
Health Economics
- (written as Symptom)An indication of a disease or health condition that a patient feels (e.g. pain, dizziness, or nausea).
Medical
- noun a change in the way the body works or a change in the body’s appearance, which shows that a disease or disorder is present and which the person is aware of
Origin & History of “symptom”
A symptom is etymologically something that ‘happens’ – an occurrence or phenomenon. The word’s application to physiological phenomena as signs of disease is a secondary development. It comes via late Latin symptōma from Greek súmptōma ‘occurrence’, a derivative of sumpíptein ‘fall together’, hence ‘fall on, happen to’. this was a compound verb formed from the prefix sun- ‘together’ and píptein ‘fall’.
