valetudinarian
[val-i-tood-n-air-ee-uh n, -tyood-]
noun
an invalid.
a person who is excessively concerned about his or her poor health or ailments.
adjective
in poor health; sickly; invalid.
excessively concerned about one's poor health or ailments.
of, relating to, or characterized by invalidism.
Origin of valetudinarian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for valetudinarian
Historical Examples of valetudinarian
What is stranger still, with all this he was something of a valetudinarian.
Loss and GainJohn Henry Newman
Dr. Howe, with all his energy of body and of mind, was somewhat of a valetudinarian.
Reminiscences, 1819-1899Julia Ward Howe.
Old, used up, valetudinarian, he only revived after a sentence of death.
History of the Commune of 1871P. Lissagary
The Valetudinarian is a man subject to some affliction, imaginary or real, or it may be both.
TalkersJohn Bate
This valetudinarian majority should make the youngest of us pause and reflect.
The Passionate ElopementCompton Mackenzie
valetudinarian
valetudinary (ˌvælɪˈtjuːdɪnərɪ)
noun plural -narians or -naries
adjective
Word Origin for valetudinarian
C18: from Latin valētūdō state of health, from valēre to be well
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
valetudinarian
[văl′ĭ-tōōd′n-âr′ē-ən]
n.
adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.