symptom

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash; strictly, a symptom is felt or experienced by the patient, while a sign can be detected by an observer.

   The doctor told that his coughing and sneezing was the symptom of standing for too long in the rain.

2. 2
   noun

   A signal; anything that indicates, or is characteristic of, the presence of something else, especially of something undesirable.

   Lying, hiding one's true feelings, and having affairs are typical symptoms of a doomed marriage.

3. 3
   noun

   anything that accompanies X and is regarded as an indication of X's existence

4. 4
   noun

   (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σύμπτωμα (súmptōma, “a happening, accident, symptom of disease”), from stem of συμπίπτω (sumpíptō, “Ι befall”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + πίπτω (píptō, “to fall”).