Algia
/ˈæl.dʒə/noun
A medical term or combining form referring to pain.
Did you know?The same Greek root appears in nostalgia, which originally meant the painful longing of homesick soldiers—not merely sentimental memories.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂elg-
“To feel pain or suffer”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἄλγος (álgos)
“Pain, grief, or bodily suffering”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-αλγία (-algía)
“A condition characterized by pain; a combining form used in medical compounds”
17th Century
New Latin
-algia
“Medical suffix meaning pain, used in anatomical and pathological terminology”
19th Century
English
-algia
“A scientific combining form appearing in names for painful conditions”
Modern English
English
algia
“Pain, especially as used in medical terminology”