This week's theme
Words coined using combining forms

This week's words
duopsony
hypochondriac
dysthymia
autologous
gerontology

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(hy-puh-KON-dree-ak)

MEANING:

noun: One who is excessively and chronically preoccupied with imaginary or innocuous symptoms as indicators of some serious disease.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek hypochondrios (abdomen, which was believed to be the seat of melancholy), from hypo- (under) + khondros (cartilage [of the breastbone]). Earliest documented use: 1599.

USAGE:

"'Gadhafi was described as a hypochondriac who insisted that all examinations and procedures be filmed and then spent hours reviewing them with physicians whom he trusted,' the ambassador reported."
Joshua Norman; U.S. Envoy to Libya Wikileaks' First Casualty?; CBS News (New York); Jan 5, 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: