Colds

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The medical conditions resulting from a viral infection in the upper respiratory system often manifest as minor illnesses with symptoms such as sore throat, cough, and nasal congestion
2. These ailments, caused by viruses, lead to inflammation in the upper respiratory tract, resulting in symptoms like fatigue, runny nose, and coughing
3. Common viral infections affecting the nose and throat that cause symptoms including sneezing, coughing, and a stuffy nose

Etymology: "Colds" is the plural of "cold," the noun for the common viral illness. The sickness took its name from the sensation that precedes it: the chill of a body feeling the bite of the weather. The source word descends from a Proto-Germanic verb meaning "to be cold, to freeze," which itself traces back to a prehistoric root *gel- shared with Latin "gelū" ("frost"). The adjective "cold" was in use in Old English as "cald" or "ċeald," and the word spread across the Germanic languages, from Dutch "koud" to German "kalt" to Swedish "kall." Its original sense was plainly physical, describing temperature, and the medical noun grew out of that sensory meaning rather than out of any clinical term.

Synonyms: cough, virus, illness, infection, sickness

Antonyms: health, wellness