allergy

Definitions

Greek allos ('other') + ergon ('work, reaction') = an 'other-reaction': the body reacting differently than it normally should. Greek allos is the cousin of Latin alius (both from PIE *al-), which is why allergy sits in the ali family too.

Why It Means This

Coined by a doctor in 1906 to name the body's 'altered reaction' to a substance. The literal sense ('other-reaction') is medical, but English borrowed it informally: to be 'allergic to' meetings means a strong instinctive dislike.

Common Collocations

• 1.food allergy食物过敏
• 2.pollen allergy花粉过敏
• 3.severe allergy严重过敏
• 4.develop an allergy产生过敏

Example Sentences

• 1.

  She has a severe allergy to peanuts.

• 2.

  Pollen allergies get worse in the spring.

• 3.

  He seems to have an allergy to hard work.