Colics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition characterized by severe, often fluctuating pain in the abdomen caused by the intestine or other parts of the digestive tract undergoing spasms
2. A type of digestive discomfort involving intense abdominal pain due to contractions of intestinal muscles, frequently seen in infants
3. A medical issue presenting as sharp abdominal cramps or discomfort as a result of the spasmodic activity of the bowel or other digestive organs

Etymology: "Colics" is simply the plural of "colic," so its history is the history of that noun. The root is Ancient Greek "kōlikos," an adjective meaning "suffering in the colon," built on "kōlon," the colon, the part of the gut. Greek physicians used it to describe pain in the bowel, and the idea of a colon-related ailment passed through Latin into the medieval medical vocabulary. English borrowed the word from French "colique," which itself came from the Latin form of the Greek adjective. The result is a medical term that has kept its anatomical meaning intact: a colic is a pain located in the intestines, and the plural names separate bouts of such pain or several sufferers at once.

Synonyms: abdominal pains, cramps, spasms, discomfort, aches