Allergy
/ˈæl.ər.dʒi/noun
A heightened and usually harmful immune reaction to a substance that is normally harmless.
Did you know?Allergy is a modern scientific coinage from Greek roots meaning “other” + “work/energy,” created in 1906 by physician Clemens von Pirquet to describe an altered bodily response.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*al-
“to grow, nourish”
Ancient Greek
Greek
állos
“other, different”
Ancient Greek
Greek
érgon
“work, action”
1906
German/Medical Latin
Allergie
“a changed or altered reaction of the body”
Early 20th Century
English
allergy
“a hypersensitive immune response to a substance”