Coined in 1906 from Greek 'other work' — the immune system's altered reaction to a familiar substance needed a new word.
A damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially a particular food, pollen, fur, or dust.
Coined in 1906 by Austrian pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet from Greek "ἄλλος" (állos, "other, different") and "ἔργον" (érgon, "work, activity"), literally meaning "other-working" or "altered reactivity." The Greek "állos" descends from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos ("other"), which also produced Latin "alius" ("other"), Gothic "aljis," and Old Irish "aile." The second element "érgon" traces to PIE *wérǵ-om ("work"), source of English "work," German "Werk," and Greek "ὄργανον" ("instrument," yielding English "organ"). Von Pirquet
The word 'allergy' was invented in 1906 by Clemens von Pirquet, a Viennese pediatrician who needed a term for the body's altered reaction to substances like smallpox vaccine upon re-exposure. He combined Greek 'allos' (other) and 'ergon' (work) to mean 'changed reactivity.' The word is only 120 years old — remarkably young for such a fundamental medical concept — and the English
Words closest in meaning, ranked by similarity