hypochondria

Forms

hypochondria n pl (genitive hypochondriōrum); second declension^[1][2] Some Late Latin sources treat it as a feminine singular, hypochondria, -ae.^[3] The TLL's sources spell it hypocondria, and medieval forms include ypocondria and ipocundria.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ὑποχόνδρια (hupokhóndria),^[1][5][2] the plural of ὑποχόνδριον (hupokhóndrion),^[6] the region named as lying below the cartilage of the false ribs.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in Late Latin medical writing: the Latin Philagrius prescribes a poultice for tension of the hypochondria,^[3] meaning the upper belly.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Other Late Latin medical texts, Plinius Valerianus, the Latin Dioscorides, Oribasius and Theodorus Priscianus, use it for the soft part of the body below the ribs.^[3][1] Besides the neuter plural, some sources treat it as a feminine singular,^[3] and a glossary explains it by praecordia.^[3] British medieval writers use it as an anatomical term for the region between the ribs and the navel, and a medieval glossary derives it from Greek “under” and “rib”.^[6]

English had it in the late 14th century as a medical term, ipocondrie; the sense of melancholy without cause dates from the 1660s.^[7]

Timeline

• 3rd/4th century AD – The Latin Philagrius prescribes a poultice for the hypochondria.^[3][4]
• 10th century – Richer of Reims uses it.^[4]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as ipocondrie, the upper abdomen.^[7]
• 1660s – English hypochondria comes to mean melancholy without real cause.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (plural) The soft part of the body below the ribs; the abdomen, upper belly, the hypochondria.^{[1][2][5][3][6]}

Related words

• English hypochondria

Usage notes

Georges gives praecordia as its native Latin equivalent.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com