valetudinarian

WOTD - 21 September 2007    

English

Etymology

From Latin valētūdinārius, from valetudo (“state of health, health, ill health”), from valere (“to be strong or well”) +‎ -an

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌvæ.lə.ˌtuː.də.ˈnɛr.i.ən/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

valetudinarian (comparative more valetudinarian, superlative most valetudinarian)

1. sickly, infirm, of ailing health

   The valetudinarian habit of discussing his health had grown on Rose... -- Florence Anne Sellar MacCunn, Sir Walter Scott's Friends, 1910, p. 234

2. being overly worried about one's health

Translations

of infirm health; sickly

Bulgarian: болнав (bg) French: valétudinaire Greek: υποχονδριακός (el) m. (ypochondriakós)

Italian: valetudinario (it) Spanish: valetudinario (es) m., valetudinaria (es) f.

Synonyms

• hypochondriac

Noun

valetudinarian (plural valetudinarians)

1. A person in poor health or sickly, especially one who is constantly obsessed with their state of health

   The most uninformed mind, with a healthy body, is happier than the wisest valetudinarian. -- Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (1904), p. 168.

   She affected to be spunky about her ailments and afflictions, but she was in fact an utterly self-centered valetudinarian (Louis Auchincloss) The American Heritage Dictionary

Translations

person obsessed with state of health

French: hypocondriaque (fr) m. Greek: υποχόνδριος (el) m. (ypochóndrios)

spanish: hipocondríaco (es) m.

Synonyms

• hypochondriac

References

• valetudinarian in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913