diagnostic English · revision 39401

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1625, J. Hart, The Anatomie of Urines|origins=grc διαγιγνώσκω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /daɪ.əɡˈnɒs.tɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˌdaɪ.əɡˈnɑ.stɪk/, /ˌdaɪ.əɡˈnɒs.tɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|διαγνωστικός|tr=diagnōstikós|t=able to distinguish]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026) from [[m|grc|διαγνωστός|tr=diagnōstós|t=distinguishable]], the verbal adjective of [[m|grc|διαγιγνώσκω|tr=diagignṓskō|t=to distinguish, discern]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|grc|διά|tr=diá|t=apart, between]] and [[m|grc|γιγνώσκω|tr=gignṓskō|t=to come to know]], from [[ine-pro|*ǵneh₃-|t=to know]].^(Etymonline) The noun goes back to the Greek phrase [[m|grc|διαγνωστική|tr=diagnōstikḗ]] (with [[m|grc|τέχνη|tr=tékhnē]] understood), "the art of distinguishing diseases".^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002) The OED compares [[fr|diagnostique]], used in French in the 17th century.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Relating to diagnosis, as an adjective, and diagnosis itself, as a noun: both in 1625, in J. Hart's ''Anatomie of Urines''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 1640s and 1650s the word described a symptom or trait that marks one disease, or one kind of plant or animal, off from others: a ''diagnostic'' is a distinctive sign.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) The biological use of the adjective is recorded from 1862.^(OED 2026) In the 1950s computing took the medical idea over for programs that find faults in a system (1953) and for the messages they produce (1963), part of a wider transfer of words from healing to computing in the second half of the 20th century.^(OED 2026)^(Mapping Metaphor)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1625 – of diagnosis; also as a noun, diagnosis.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1646 – a distinguishing characteristic, in general use.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1651 – a distinctive symptom of a disease.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1862 – in biology, characteristic of a species or group.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1953 – of a computer program, designed to find faults.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1962 – ''diagnostics'' in physics, methods for studying a plasma.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1963 – a computer message that helps identify an error.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to or used in [[diagnosis]]: ''diagnostic tests''.^(AHD 2024)^(COED 2004)

+ # Of a [[symptom]] or feature: distinctive enough to identify a disease or problem.^(AHD 2024)^(COED 2004)

+ # (biology) Characteristic of a particular [[species]] or group.^(COED 2004)^(OED 2026)

+ # (computing) Of a program or routine: designed to detect and report faults.^(OED 2026)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A distinctive symptom or characteristic.^(AHD 2024)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''diagnostics'': the practice or techniques of diagnosis.^(AHD 2024)^(COED 2004)

+ # A test, instrument or [[technique]] used in diagnosis.^(AHD 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+ # (computing) A program that detects faults, or a message that it produces.^(COED 2004)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[diagnostically]]

+ * [[diagnostician]]

+ * [[diagnosticate]]

+ * [[immunodiagnostic]]

+ * [[postdiagnostic]]

+ * [[prediagnostic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[diagnosis]]

+ * [[prognostic]]

+ * [[agnostic]]

+ * [[gnostic]]

+ * [[know]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}