colic

[ kol-ik ]

/ ˈkɒl ɪk /

Pathology, Veterinary Pathology

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noun

paroxysmal pain in the abdomen or bowels.

adjective

pertaining to or affecting the colon or the bowels.

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Origin of colic

1400–50; late Middle English colike (<Middle French colique) <Latin colica (passiō) (suffering) of the colon <Greek kolikós, equivalent to kól(on) colon² + -ikos-ic

OTHER WORDS FROM colic

col·ick·y, adjective

Words nearby colic

Colette, coleus, colewort, coley, Colfax, colic, colicin, colicinogen, colicky, colicroot, colicweed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use colic in a sentence

I went back to work sooner than I had with my son and we muddled through the colic, the eczema, two sets of diapers.
How My Ex-Husband Became One of My Best Friends|Claire Fuller|May 10, 2021|Time
And in my first memory, I am a toddler kneading that taut skin, easing my colic into sleep.
On Yom Kippur, Remember My Palestinian Mother|Samer Badawi|September 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But college is not like some sort of all-purpose herbal supplement that cures bunions and also colic; it teaches specific skills.
Sorry, Kids, No High School Diplomas Need Apply|Megan McArdle|February 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One morning, after taking my coffee, I was seized with violent sickness, attended with colic.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment|Silvio Pellico

I don't know what was the matter with it, but I think it had the colic, for it lay as quiet as a mouse; and then it died.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various
He had come within at least an appreciable distance of selling his soul for a colic cure.
The Boy Grew Older|Heywood Broun
He died of colic in the year 1430, at the age of forty-seven.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects|Giorgio Vasari
But I do know that I was fortunate in not being devoured during the several hours I was knotted up on the ground with the colic.
Before Adam|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for colic

colic

/ (ˈkɒlɪk) /

noun

a condition characterized by acute spasmodic abdominal pain, esp that caused by inflammation, distention, etc, of the gastrointestinal tract

Word Origin for colic

C15: from Old French colique, from Late Latin cōlicus ill with colic, from Greek kōlon, variant of kolon colon ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for colic

colic

[ kŏl′ĭk ]

Severe abdominal pain, often caused by spasm, obstruction, or distention of any of the hollow viscera, such as the intestines.

A condition seen in infants less than three months old, marked by periods of inconsolable crying lasting for hours at a time for at least three weeks. The cause is unknown.

colic

Origin of colic

OTHER WORDS FROM colic

Words nearby colic

Words related to colic

How to use colic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for colic

Word Origin for colic

Scientific definitions for colic