Meningitic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characteristic of inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, often caused by infection or disease, affecting neurological health
2. Pertaining to the condition involving inflammation of the meninges, the layers enveloping the central nervous system, typically due to bacterial, viral, or fungal invasion
3. Connected with the pathological state of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord becoming inflamed, frequently resulting in symptoms such as headache, fever, and neck stiffness

Etymology: Ancient Greek had a word for the thin membranes that wrap the brain and spinal cord, "meninx," and its plural "meninges" survives in English for those same layers. "Meningitis" adds "-itis," a Greek-derived suffix that medical writers adopted to name inflammation of a body part, so the condition is literally "inflammation of the membranes." The term is a modern coinage built from classical parts rather than a word the Greeks used for this illness. "Meningitic" adds the adjective suffix "-ic" to that noun, the same pattern found in "arthritic" and "neuritic." It describes anything relating to meningitis, such as a symptom or a patient.

Synonyms: meningitis-related