Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Symptom \Symp"tom\, n. [F. sympt[^o]me, Gr. ? anything that has
befallen one, a chance, causality, symptom, fr. ? to fall
together; sy`n with + ? to fall; akin to Skr. pat to fly, to
fall. See Syn-, and cf. Asymptote, Feather.]
1. (Med.) Any affection which accompanies disease; a
perceptible change in the body or its functions, which
indicates disease, or the kind or phases of disease; as,
the causes of disease often lie beyond our sight, but we
learn their nature by the symptoms exhibited.
[1913 Webster]
Like the sick man, we are expiring with all sorts of
good symptoms. --Swift.
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2. A sign or token; that which indicates the existence of
something else; as, corruption in elections is a symptom
of the decay of public virtue.
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Syn: Mark; note; sign; token; indication.
[1913 Webster] Symptomatic
symptom
n 1: (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that
is experienced by a patient and is associated with a
particular disease
2: anything that accompanies X and is regarded as an indication
of X's existence