pathological
/ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to pathology.
adj
Relating to, amounting to, or caused by a physical or mental disorder.
adj
Having properties which are counterintuitive or difficult to handle.
adj
Having properties that cause unusually bad behaviour, especially regarding correctness or performance.
Example Sentences
- "But we can no longer regard the mere fact of these diffuse condensations of the lung becoming yellow and caseous as an evidence of their tuberculous nature, especially since the pathological anatomists, and among them Virchow, have shown that formations of the most different kind, having not the slightest connection with tubercule— as, for example, old cancerous masses, lymphatic glands swollen by a hyperplasia of cells, hæmorrhagical infarctions, abscesses, &c.— undergo exactly the same caseous transformation."
- "Paul Canning's performance as Julian gives the character an emotional center that is not in the script: He is vulnerable without being pathological, needy without being pathetic."
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek πάσχω (páskhō)der. Ancient Greek πᾰ́θος (pắthos) Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *lóǵos Proto-Hellenic *lógos Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -λογῐ́ᾱ (-logĭ́ā)bor. Latin -logialbor. French -logie French pathologiebor. English pathology Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English pathological From pathology + -ical.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/
- British English: /ˌpæθ.əˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.
Inflected Forms
more pathological (comparative)
most pathological (superlative)