# symptom

Pronunciation: US say "SIMP-tuhm" /ˈsɪm(p)təm/; UK

## Noun

1. A change in function, sensation, or appearance that a person feels and that points to a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache, or rash.
   - Simple: A change in your body, like pain or fever, that shows you might be sick.
   - _Loss of taste became a common symptom during the pandemic._
   - _Doctors look beyond a single symptom to understand the whole illness._
2. A sign or indication of the presence of something else, especially something undesirable.
   - Simple: A sign that something else is going on, usually something bad.
   - _Rising crime is often a symptom of deeper social problems._
   - _The argument was just a symptom of tensions that had been building for months._

## Origin

From Ancient Greek σύμπτωμα (súmptōma), meaning "a happening, accident, or symptom of disease." This came from συμπίπτω (sumpíptō, "I befall"), formed from συν- (sun-, "together") plus πίπτω (píptō, "I fall").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/symptom (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).