pathologie

Forms

pathologie f (plural pathologies)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek παθολογία (pathología, “study of the passions”).^[2][3][4][5] The Greek word is made of πάθος (páthos, “what one undergoes, suffering”) and the element of -logie, from λόγος (lógos, “discourse, doctrine”).^[6][3][7] Since the Greek word meant the study of the passions, not of diseases, Wiktionary treats it as formed from French patho- + -logie on the Greek model, and the Académie and the GLLF also see the influence of παθολογικός (pathologikós, “concerning diseases or the passions”).^[1][7][8] Etymonline gives a medical Latin pathologia as the source of the English word.^[9]

Rey calls the origin of the Greek noun obscure: it has been compared with Lithuanian kenčiù (“I suffer”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1550, in H. Fierabras's Méthode chirurgicale.^[2][3] The GLLF's next record is from A. d’Aubigné at the end of the 16th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word became the name of a central branch of medicine, the study of diseases themselves, and Rey notes that it came to coincide with the whole field of disease.^[3][10] Its subdivisions are recorded through the 19th century: comparative pathology in A. Comte (1830), general and special pathology in Littré (1868), descriptive and veterinary pathology in Larousse (1875), and plant pathology in 1903.^[8] By metonymy it now also names a disease, or a set of disorders, in itself.^[10][7]

It gave the derivative pathologiste in 1765, and it serves as an element of learned compounds such as psychopathologie.^[3][11] The English word pathology (1610s) comes from the French word.^[9]

Timeline

• 1550 – First recorded in H. Fierabras's Méthode chirurgicale.^[2]
• 1552 – The adjective pathologique is borrowed from Greek.^[3]
• 1610s – English borrows it as pathology.^[9]
• 1765 – The Encyclopédie records the derivative pathologiste.^[2]
• 1830 – A. Comte writes of comparative pathology.^[8]
• 1868 – Littré records general and special pathology.^[8]
• 1903 – Plant pathology is recorded by Larousse.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) The science of diseases, their causes, mechanisms, symptoms and effects; pathology.^[10][12][13]
2. A disease or disorder, or the set of its manifestations.^{[10][12][13][5]}

Word family

• pathologiste
• psychopathologie

Related words

• pathologique
• pathétique
• pathos
• Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos)

Usage notes

Fields of the science are named with an adjective: pathologie mentale, pathologie animale, pathologie végétale, pathologie comparée.^[10][7] Pathologie externe studies the disorders treated by surgery, as opposed to pathologie interne, which studies those treated by medicine.^[7][6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
13. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)