atopy

[at-uh-pee]

noun

1. an allergy, involving an inherited immunoglobulin of the IgE type, that predisposes a person to certain allergic responses, as atopic dermatitis.

atopy

/ ˈætəʊpɪ /

noun

1. immunol a hereditary tendency to be hypersensitive to certain allergens

Word History and Origins

Origin of atopy¹

1920–25; < Greek atopía extraordinariness, equivalent to átop ( os ) out of place, unusual ( a- ⁶, topo- ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

“The present results demonstrate that biodiversity can be surprisingly strongly associated with atopy.”

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Also, those who lived on farms were much less likely to have atopy — an umbrella term for certain types of hyperallergic sensitivity, including hay fever, asthma and eczema.

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The researchers also found that the teenagers' risk of atopy -- a tendency to have allergic reactions -- inched up the closer they lived to the main road.

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But the drop in atopy was linked to a certain group of bacteria, not to the range of microbes.

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