diabetes

American  

[dahy-uh-bee-tis, -teez] / ˌdaɪ əˈbi tɪs, -tiz /

noun

Pathology.

1. any of several disorders characterized by increased urine production.

2. Also called diabetes mellitus.  a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, usually occurring in genetically predisposed individuals, characterized by inadequate production or utilization of insulin and resulting in excessive amounts of glucose in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, weight loss, and in some cases progressive destruction of small blood vessels leading to such complications as infections and gangrene of the limbs or blindness.

3. type 1 diabetes.

4. type 2 diabetes.

5. Also called diabetes insipidus.  increased urine production caused by inadequate secretion of vasopressin by the pituitary gland.

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diabetes British  

/ -tiːz, ˌdaɪəˈbiːtɪs /

noun

1. any of various disorders, esp diabetes mellitus, characterized by excretion of an abnormally large amount of urine

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Etymology

Origin of diabetes

First recorded in 1555–65; from New Latin, Latin, from Greek, equivalent to diabē- (variant stem of diabaínein “to go through, pass over,” equivalent to dia- “through” + baínein “to pass”) + -tēs agent suffix; see dia-

Explanation

When a person has the medical condition called diabetes, the body can’t produce enough insulin to process the glucose in the blood. Diabetes has been known since the first century B.C.E., when a Greek physician, Aretus the Cappadocian, named it diabainein, meaning "a siphon," referring to the excessive urination associated with the disease. The word diabetes was first recorded in 1425, and in 1675, the Greek mellitus, “like honey,” was added, to reflect the sweet smell and taste of the patient’s urine. An unrelated and rare disorder, diabetes insipidus, is usually caused by a hormone deficiency.

Example Sentences

The PREDIMED-Plus trial found that this more structured version of Mediterranean living reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 31%.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that more than 530 million people worldwide now live with diabetes.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

People who have prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes or severe obesity, for example, tend to have lower GLP-1 than those who are metabolically healthy.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

Everything from diabetes to schizophrenia, he claims, is caused by Americans being junk food junkies.

From Salon • May 18, 2026

Past students, she explained, had studied orcas, diabetes, astronaut food, the Black Death, velociraptors, solar hurricanes, and bioterrorism.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin