dyspepsia
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of dyspepsia
1650–60; < Latin < Greek dyspepsía, equivalent to dys- dys- + péps ( is ) digestion + -ia -ia
Explanation
If you have chronic indigestion, heartburn, or nausea, you may be diagnosed with the digestive disorder dyspepsia. Dyspepsia can be caused by many things, including ulcers and medications. Dys- is the Greek prefix for bad, and peptos is Greek for digested. Together they make the word dyspeptos, which means hard to digest or literally, badly digested. The Greek word became the root for the adjective dyspeptic, which in turn was the basis for dyspepsia. Sometimes people may say you have dyspepsia when they mean you are chronically in a bad mood or so irritable that it seems like you suffer from chronic indigestion — although this usage is more common with dyspeptic.
Vocabulary lists containing dyspepsia
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: dys
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"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter
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Moon Over Manifest
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The effect of serotonin on smooth muscle is a clue but it doesn't provide a mechanism connecting stress to the symptoms of functional dyspepsia.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The That’s Not a Word! brigade is still very much with us, I’m both amused and bemused to report; witness their perpetual dyspepsia over words such as “irregardless.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2022
The Europeans who encountered indigenous people in Mexico in the 1500s noted that chocolate was used to treat numerous ailments ranging from dysentery and indigestion, to fatigue and dyspepsia.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2018
Historians continue to debate the true cause of Harrison’s death, and some scholars have wondered whether his history of dyspepsia, rather than pneumonia, was really to blame.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2016
Despite a minor explosion while we mixed her dyspepsia elixir, the parcels turned out beautifully, each wrapped in red-white-and-blue gingham, and I am sure they will be received with great appreciation.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
