GC: n
S: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/health-and-wellbeing-anxiety (last access: 25 August 2016); http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/internet-makes-hypochondria-worse (last access: 25 August 2016).
N: 1. From French hypocondriaque, from Ancient Greek ὑποχονδριακός (hupokhondriakós, “of the region between the ribs and navel”), from ὑποχόνδριος (hupokhóndrios, “the space between the ribs and the navel”), from ὑπό (hupó, “below”) + χόνδρος (khóndros, “cartilage”).
First Known Use: 1599.
2. Two meanings as an adjective:
- hypochondriacal (affected or produced by hypochondria).
- of, relating to, or being the two regions of the abdomen lying on either side of the epigastric region and above the lumbar regions
3. One meaning as a noun:
- a person who is often or always worried about being ill
4. Cultural Interrelation: In his short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) talked about this disorder. The dilapidated aristocrat Roderick Usher, who seems to be allergic to the world, is a “hypochondriac”— tastes, smells, bright lights and roughly textured garments all “inspire him with horror.”
S: 1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hypochondriac (last access: 25 August 2016); MW – http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypochondriac (last access: 25 August 2016). 2 & 3. MW – http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypochondriac (last access: 25 August 2016). 4. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703558004574581723728590510 (last access: 25 August 2016); FCB.
SYN:
S:
CR: hypochondria, spleen.
