Indigestion
/ˌɪn.dɪˈdʒes.tʃən/noun
Difficulty or discomfort in digesting food, often causing pain, bloating, or nausea.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *indigestio*, which simply meant a lack of proper ordering or arrangement before it became a bodily complaint, so it once described chaos in both the gut and the mind.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰes-
“to swallow, devour”
Latin
Latin
digerere
“to separate, distribute, arrange, digest”
Late Latin
Latin
indigestio
“lack of digestion; disorder, confusion”
Old French
Old French
indigestion
“indigestion; upset stomach”
14th Century
English
indigestioun
“indigestion, stomach upset”
Modern English
English
indigestion
“difficulty or discomfort in digesting food”