symptom
[simp-tuh m]
- any phenomenon or circumstance accompanying something and serving as evidence of it.
- a sign or indication of something.
- Pathology. a phenomenon that arises from and accompanies a particular disease or disorder and serves as an indication of it.
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Origin of symptom
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin symptōma < Greek sýmptōma occurrence, that which falls together with something, equivalent to sym- sym- + ptō- (variant stem of píptein to fall) + -ma noun suffix of result
Synonyms
See more synonyms for symptom on Thesaurus.com2. signal, token, mark.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for symptom
Contemporary Examples
“Mistletoe infections can be a symptom of larger problems,” notes Shaw.
Within days of the first symptom, a headache, the patient was fighting for his life.
Hannigan thinks that pretending to be a basketball player was a symptom of a larger confidence issue.
But there is no evidence Duncan had a fever, a symptom of the Ebola virus, when he entered the country.
As has been well documented, the first symptom of an Ebola infection is a fever.
Historical Examples
It may be that this same insensibility was a symptom of the disease.
The Man of AdamantNathaniel Hawthorne
Not a symptom of disobedience during the rest of the voyage.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Precocity is sometimes a symptom of disease rather than of intellectual vigour.
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
I have spoken of the lack of prayer in the individual Christian as a symptom of a disease.
The Ministry of IntercessionAndrew Murray
And what is now the disease of which the lack of prayer is the symptom?
The Ministry of IntercessionAndrew Murray
symptom
- med any sensation or change in bodily function experienced by a patient that is associated with a particular diseaseCompare sign (def. 9)
- any phenomenon or circumstance accompanying something and regarded as evidence of its existence; indication
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Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin symptōma, from Greek sumptōma chance, from sumpiptein to occur, from syn- + piptein to fall
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for symptom
n.
1540s, earlier sinthoma (late 14c.), from Medieval Latin sinthoma "symptom of a disease," from Late Latin symptoma, from Greek symptoma (genitive symptomatos) "a happening, accident, disease," from stem of sympiptein "to befall," from syn- "together" (see syn-) + piptein "to fall," from PIE *pi-pt-, reduplicated form of root *pet- "to rush; to fly" (see petition (n.)). Spelling altered in English by influence of Middle French and Late Latin forms. Symptomatic in general sense of "indicative (of)" is from 1751.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
symptom
(sĭm′təm, sĭmp′-)- A subjective indication of a disorder or disease, such as pain, nausea, or weakness.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
symptom
[sĭm′təm]
- A subjective indication of a disorder or disease, such as pain, nausea or weakness. Symptoms may be accompanied by objective signs of disease such as abnormal laboratory test results or findings during a physical examination. Compare sign.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.