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pathological

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Etymology and origin of the English word pathological

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1634
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πάθος,-λογία

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌpæθ.əˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/[1]

Etymology

The OED takes it as formed from English patho- + -logical, after pathology.[2] Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford analyse it as pathologic with the suffix -al,[3][4] and Merriam-Webster derives it from French pathologique, from Ancient Greek παθολογικός (pathologikós, “relating to the study of the passions”).[5][2] pathology is from pathologie, from πάθος (páthos, “suffering”) and -λογία (-logía, “study”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to disease or to the science of pathology: 1634, on the title page of T. Whitaker's work on waters.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1656,[5] and Etymonline and Dictionary.com to the 1680s.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as relating to the signs and effects of a disease.[7] From 1845 it was also used of what is caused by disease or is itself diseased, and then of anything morbid or excessive.[2][3] Under Kant's influence it was used from 1796 to the late 19th century for what relates to the feelings or passions,[2][5] a sense close to the Greek one.[5] In mathematics it has described a grossly abnormal function since 1939,[2] and in colloquial use, since 1949, a person who shows a trait to an extreme or unhealthy degree, as in pathological liar.[2][3][8] A noun, a person with a mental illness or compulsion, is recorded in the United States from 1931.[2]

Timeline

  • 1634 – relating to disease or to pathology.[2]
  • 1796 – relating to the feelings or passions, in Kant's philosophy (obsolete by 1894).[2]
  • 1845 – caused by or of the nature of disease; morbid.[2][3]
  • 1931 – noun, a person with a mental illness or compulsion (US).[2]
  • 1939 – in mathematics, grossly abnormal.[2]
  • 1949 – showing a trait to an extreme or unhealthy degree.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to pathology, the study of disease: a pathological laboratory.[5][8][2]
  2. Caused by, involving or altered by disease: pathological changes in the tissue.[5][8][2]
  3. (informal) Driven by a compulsion; extreme or unreasonable: a pathological liar, pathological jealousy.[8][2]
  4. (mathematics) Of a function or other object, grossly abnormal in its behaviour.[2]
  5. In Kant's philosophy, relating to the passions or feelings.[5][2]

Word family

  • pathologically
  • postpathological
  • nonpathological

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Pathological.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pathological. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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