Etiology
noun /ˌiːtɪˈɒlədʒi/ — The cause or origin of a disease or condition.
Definition
The cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition; the investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something.
Beyond the definition
Etiology is the part of medicine that asks why — not just what is wrong but how it came to be wrong. The pursuit of etiology is the core of epidemiology and much of preventive medicine. Knowing the cause is the prerequisite for prevention.
Origin & history
From Greek aitiologia (the giving of a cause), from aitia (cause, reason) + -logia (study of). The study of causes — applied to medicine in the 16th century.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The etiology of the outbreak was traced to contaminated water at a single facility.
Unknown etiology is one of the most difficult diagnoses to receive — and to give.
Her interest was the etiology of chronic illness — not treatment but cause.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Etiology” when the meaning fits your context: The cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition; the investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something.
Synonyms
cause, origin, pathogenesis
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Stethoscope and Heart Model
A clinician listens to a patient’s chest in a room with a heart model, a blood pressure cuff, and a reflex hammer.
The tools—stethoscope, heart model, and hammer—are instruments used to investigate the etiology of a condition. They are essential to identifying the cause of symptoms and understanding how a disease or condition is originating within the patient's body.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Etiology" mean?
Etiology is noun meaning: The cause or origin of a disease or condition.. The cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition; the investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something.
Where does the word "Etiology" come from?
From Greek aitiologia (the giving of a cause), from aitia (cause, reason) + -logia (study of). The study of causes — applied to medicine in the 16th century.