valetudinary
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of valetudinary
1575–85; < Latin valētūdinārius sickly, equivalent to valētūdin- (stem of valētūdō ) good or bad state of health ( valē ( re ) to be well + -tūdō -tude ) + -ārius -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is worthy of remark, that the Austrian medical officers send the valetudinary among the soldiers to these baths from a very great distance.
From Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, Visited in 1837. Vol. II by Gleig, G. R. (George Robert)
Beside these suffering men Lord George lay on a floor all night, having given up the minister's house in Musselburgh, which had been destined as his quarters, to those who were valetudinary.
From Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 Volume III. by Thomson, Mrs.
The Lady of Lochleven rose from the bedside, and darted a penetrating look at the elder valetudinary.
From The Abbot by Scott, Walter, Sir
Could a person in this condition execute violence against another?—I, feeble and valetudinary, with no inducement to engage—no ability to accomplish—no weapon wherewith to perpetrate such a fact;—without interest, without power, without motives, without means!
From Eugene Aram — Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
Monsieur St. Euvremont makes thus his potage de santé of boiled meat for dinner being very valetudinary....
From The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by MacDonell, Anne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
