disease

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An illness that affects people, animals, or plants.

   Doctors are working hard to find a cure for the disease.

2. 2
   noun

   A harmful condition affecting a society or way of life.

   Many people see greed as a disease of modern society.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Disease entered English from French in the Middle Ages and originally meant “lack of ease,” hence inconvenience or trouble. It soon became associated specifically with illness, and the broader original sense disappeared in the 17th century.

From Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, disaise, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise. Displaced native Middle English adle, audle (“disease”) (from Old English ādl (“disease, sickness”), see adle), Middle English cothe, coathe (“disease”) (from Old English coþu (“disease”), see coath). By surface analysis, dis- + ease.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary