Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

diathesis

Pronunciation: /dʌɪˈaθəsɪs/
Definition of diathesis

noun (plural diatheses /-siːz/)

  • 1 [usually with modifier] Medicine a tendency to suffer from a particular medical condition:a bleeding diathesis
  • 2 Linguistics the set of syntactic patterns with which a verb or other word is most typically associated.

Origin:

mid 17th century: modern Latin, from Greek, 'disposition', from diatithenai 'arrange'. sense 2 dates from the mid 20th century

diathesis in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of diathesis in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Oxford Dictionaries Pro

For Oxford's best resources for writers, plus thesaurus, audio, and 1.9m examples.

GET PRO ►

Shop for an Oxford dictionary
Find the perfect Oxford dictionary for you in our online shop.
SHOP NOW ►

Word of the day

cur

/ kəː /
noun
an aggressive or unkempt dog …