Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An indication of a disorder or disease, especially a subjective one such as pain, nausea, or weakness.
  • noun A characteristic sign or indication of the existence of something else.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun paralysis of the facial muscles for the automatic movements of expression, with retention of the power of voluntary motion.
  • noun the occurrence of a paroxysm when the motor nerve of a limb is compressed in tetany.
  • noun One of the departures from normal function or form which a disease presents, especially one of the more evident of such departures.
  • noun Any sign or indication; that which indicates the existence of something else.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) Any affection which accompanies disease; a perceptible change in the body or its functions, which indicates disease, or the kind or phases of disease.
  • noun A sign or token; that which indicates the existence of something else.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun medicine A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash.
  • noun Anything that indicates, or is characteristic of, the presence of something else, especially of something undesirable.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease
  • noun anything that accompanies X and is regarded as an indication of X's existence

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sinthoma, symptom of a disease, from Medieval Latin sinthōma, from Late Latin symptōma, from Greek sumptōma, sumptōmat-, a happening, symptom of a disease, from sumpiptein, sumptō-, to coincide : sun-, syn- + piptein, to fall; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek σύμπτωμα (sumptōma, "a happening, accident, symptom of disease"), from stem of συμπίπτω (sumpiptō, "Ι befall"), from συν- (sun-, "together") + πίπτω (piptō, "I fall").

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Examples

  • The word "symptom" comes from a Greek word meaning "accident, misfortune, that which befalls": certainly an unhealthy attitude toward a choice that can be the most joyous event of a person's life.

    All Categories Featured Content - Associated Content 2009

  • The word "symptom" comes from a Greek word meaning "accident, misfortune, that which befalls": certainly an unhealthy attitude toward a choice that can be the most joyous event of a person's life.

    All Categories Featured Content - Associated Content 2009

  • "The main symptom is that you just can't sustain the activity you're doing," explains Howard Backer, M.D., past president of the Wilderness Medical Society and an expert on environmental heat illnesses.

    Why Heatstroke is a Threat to Hunters and Fishermen, How to Recognize it, and How to Avoid It 2005

  • The symptoms you describe sound like Dengue II since the main symptom is bleeding, both internal and external from the eyes, nose, etc.

    Weather in Ajijic 2004

  • In the lightest form, the main symptom is prurience or itching.

    Charles Richet - Nobel Lecture 1967

  • Oh -- and while the highlight of last night's television viewing was, as ever, "House" (the old woman who was exhibiting Fannish Squee as a symptom is a moment that should be noted), PAX's "Young Blades" actually wasn't bad.

    for those who asked: the kids suricattus 2005

  • Pietz added Loughner now makes eye contact with people and no longer has the inappropriate smirk seen at previous court hearings, which she described as a symptom of his mental illness.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Mr. Monroy-Hernández at M.I.T. said that the spread of social media, which he describes as a symptom of broader institutional dysfunction, will probably not "play a central role in fighting the problem."

    NYT > Home Page By DAMIEN CAVE 2011

  • Mr. Monroy-Hernández at M.I.T. said that the spread of social media, which he describes as a symptom of broader institutional dysfunction, will probably not "play a central role in fighting the problem."

    NYT > Home Page By DAMIEN CAVE 2011

  • Mr. Monroy-Hernández at M.I.T. said that the spread of social media, which he describes as a symptom of institutional dysfunction, will probably not "play a central role in fighting the problem."

    NYT > Home Page By DAMIEN CAVE 2011

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