Colic

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒl.ɪk/

Definitions

1. A condition marked by intense abdominal pain resulting from spasms in the intestines or other hollow organs
2. A frequent cause of distress in the abdomen, this condition stems from spasmodic contractions within digestive structures
3. A medical issue involving sudden, intense cramps originating in the intestines or similar hollow organs

Etymology: The Greek physician Hippocrates and his followers wrote of "kōlikos" pains, a term built on "kōlon," the colon, the part of the gut where the trouble was thought to lie. The Greek adjective "kōlikos" meant "suffering in the colon," and the Latin and then French forms carried that sense of a bowel complaint into the language of medicine. English borrowed the word from French "colique," which itself came from the Greek through Latin. Because the pain was felt in the belly rather than in the bowel itself, the name stuck to the familiar agony of a crying infant or a griping stomach, even though the original meaning was narrowly anatomical.

Synonyms: abdominal pain