valetudinary

[val-i-tood-n-er-ee, -tyood-]

val·e·tu·di·nar·y

[val-i-tood-n-er-ee, -tyood-]
noun, plural val·e·tu·di·nar·ies.

Origin:
1575–85; < Latin valētūdinārius sickly, equivalent to valētūdin- (stem of valētūdō) good or bad state of health (valē(re) to be well + -tūdō -tude) + -ārius -ary
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Valetudinary has a plethora of syllables.
So is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Does it mean:
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C14H9Cl5, usually derived from chloral by reaction with chlorobenzene in the presence of fuming sulfuric acid: used as an insecticide and as a scabicide and pediculicide: agricultural use prohibited in the U.S.
Collins
World English Dictionary
valetudinarian or valetudinary (ˌvælɪˌtjuːdɪˈnɛərɪən, ˌvælɪˈtjuːdɪnərɪ)
 
n , pl -narians, -naries
1.  a person who is or believes himself to be chronically sick; invalid
2.  a person excessively worried about the state of his health; hypochondriac
 
adj
3.  relating to, marked by, or resulting from poor health
4.  being a valetudinarian
5.  trying to return to a healthy state
 
[C18: from Latin valētūdō state of health, from valēre to be well]
 
valetudinary or valetudinary
 
n
 
adj
 
[C18: from Latin valētūdō state of health, from valēre to be well]
 
valetudi'narianism or valetudinary
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

valetudinary val·e·tu·di·nar·y (vāl'ĭ-t&oomacr;d'n-ěr'ē, -ty&oomacr;d'-)
adj.
Of, relating to, or typical of a valetudinarian. n.
A valetudinarian.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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