English
pathological
Pathological comes from French pathologie ‘pathology’, from Ancient Greek λόγος ‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóǵos1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógos1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγος1lógos‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech, story, debate, utterance, argument’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpathologie1‘pathology’
- English1500–presentpathology1
- Englishearliest quotation 1868pathological1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English pathological
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1868, Felix von Niemeyer, J. L Parke: “But we can no longer regard the mere fact…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, English pathological‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóǵosWiktionary, English pathologicalreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosWiktionary, English pathologicalreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγοςWiktionary, English pathologicallógos‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech, story, debate, utterance, argument’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpathologieWiktionary, English pathological‘pathology’
- English1500–presentpathologyWiktionary, English pathological
- Englishearliest quotation 1868pathologicalWiktionary, English pathological. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1868, Felix von Niemeyer, J. L Parke: “But we can no longer regard the mere fact…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’
election, collection, technology, lesson, select, elite, collect, eligible, elect, elegant, coil, legion, negligence, negligent, catalogue, negligible, leach, diligent, astrology, cull, lexicon, epilogue, cosmology, lexical, legation, lignite, lexis, lignin, dialectic, alexia, gynecologist, ineligibility, dialogic, 151 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, etymology, homologous, astrological, pathophysiology, neurophysiology, bacteriological, 103 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘that which is said: word, sentence, speech,…’
logic, apology, trilogy, sociology, terminology, analogy, physiology, logos, monologue, prologue, eulogy, archaeologist, logistic, epistemology, entomology, etiology, bacteriology, apologia, syllogism, bacteriologist, 109 more
through English pathology
Today it means
adj Pertaining to pathology.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “pathological”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / pathological