Dystrophy
/ˈdɪs.trə.fi/noun
A disorder in which body tissue or an organ wastes away or develops abnormally.
Did you know?Dystrophy comes from Greek medical language, where dys- marked something bad or defective and trophē meant nourishment, so the word originally framed disease as a failure of feeding and growth.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
dys- + trophē
“bad nourishment; defective growth”
Late Greek
Greek
dystrophia
“abnormal or faulty nourishment”
19th Century
French
dystrophie
“medical term for defective nutrition or growth”
Late 19th Century
English
dystrophy
“a condition of impaired nutrition or wasting of tissue”
Modern English
English
dystrophy
“a disorder marked by progressive wasting or abnormal development of tissue”