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physiological

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɒd͡ʒ.i.kəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɒd͡ʒ.i.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English physiology + -ical.[2][3][4] The OED allows either this, as physio- with -logical, or Late Latin physiologicus with the English suffix -al;[5] Merriam-Webster takes the Latin adjective as the base and derives it from Ancient Greek φυσιολογικός (phusiologikós, “relating to natural science”), from φυσιολογία (phusiología, “natural science”) and the suffix -ικός (-ikós).[6] physiology itself is from Middle French physiologie or directly from Latin physiologia (“natural science, study of nature”),[5][2][7] from the same Greek noun, there glossed as inquiry into nature,[2][8] which is built on φύσις (phúsis, “nature”).[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the material universe or to natural science; physical: 1610, in J. Healey's translation of Vives.[5] Etymonline dates this sense, now obsolete, to about 1600.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective followed the change in meaning of physiology, which meant natural philosophy from 1564 and the science of the functions of living things from 1615.[5][7] The old sense, "natural, physical", lasted until the early 19th century;[5][3] Johnson (1755) still defined the word as relating to the doctrine of the natural constitution of things.[9] The modern sense, relating to physiology and the functioning of living organisms, is recorded from 1704 by the OED and Merriam-Webster,[5][6] though Etymonline dates it only from 1814.[2] From 1896 biology and medicine also used it of acidity or salinity equal to that of blood and living tissue, and generally of what is normal for a healthy body, as opposed to pathological.[5][10] The shorter form physiologic is now chiefly American.[6]

Timeline

  • 1610 – relating to natural science; physical (obsolete by 1825).[5]
  • 1704 – relating to physiology and the functioning of living organisms.[5][6]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it by the doctrine of the natural constitution of things.[9]
  • 1814 – the physiological sense, according to Etymonline.[2]
  • 1896 – of salinity, acidity, etc., equal to that of living tissue; normal.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to physiology, the study of how living organisms and their organs work: physiological changes during exercise.[10][6][5]
  2. Typical of the normal, healthy functioning of the body; not pathological.[10][5]
  3. (obsolete, 1610–1825) Relating to natural science; physical.[5][3]

Word family

  • physiologically
  • nonphysiological
  • psychophysiological
  • unphysiological

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins